Taking Back OUR Story

Coming up

2009-09-05T10:51:00.002-04:00

I just thought i would blog again, get these fingers typing about something up on this website. Any who, this Monday that is Coming up as we all know is labor day. I am so thrilled and excited for it because it is another day for Wake Church.

What is Wake Church, it is a time where people get together talk about God and his word real early in the morning (6:30) and then go wake-boarding afterwords. It is so much fun.

So in light of all this, i think you should totally come, if you want to, just reply to this before Monday and we will connect.

Also, if you are thinking of coming, we will be reading Psalms 23. Yes, very befitting of the day... we know.

Any who, i will totally write more on this topic latron.

Deuces

Killin me softly

2009-08-03T14:51:00.005-04:00

No, the title of this post is not the lyrics to the song "killing me softly."

Any way's what i mean by this title is that procrastination is killing me softly. It is something i hate and that i now i need to manage better but it is soooo tough for me to do. I think i procrastinate for fear of commitment or i just get anxious and want to push the inevitable away. The strange thing is that by doing this whole push-back thing i get hurt. Doing this whole procrastinating thing brings death, fear, anxieties. You know these words don't seem like ones that should be involved with anyones life... especially a person who follows after Christ, yet they are... and it is ok.

It is ok to experience these emotions but the way they are brought on is the problem. The reason why i experience emotions like fear and anxiety is because i hold off on doing almost everything and it kills me. I sometimes get emails from individuals and i don't open them for maybe a couple of days avoiding the inevitable message that has already been sent and even maybe hoping for a reply.

I think procrastination is one of the things a greatly dislike about myself and i am glad that i can have some help from Lindsay (my girlfriend) in this area but it is something i know that I have to work through. I know God has more for me then anxieties and fears. I know that there is no need to be rushed and so panicky just waiting and wondering how things are going to come along for my class schedule this semester or i realize that i don't have to redo things if i completed them proficiently and on time with the first go around.

Procrastination is a killa and it adds un-needed stress. This is also the point in the blog where i could make some super spiritual comment or tie in some scripture but... it aint going to go down like that. I just want to share my experience and shed some light on this silent creeper, this slow sulking shadow that adds just enough darkness to start blotting out Christ and adding to His light and easy yoke. Run from the shadow's of procrastination and find your freedom in the pastures that Christ has promised. All of that may be a little more work but it adds endurance which eventually leads to hope which Christ has lavishly poured out unto us in his love. Romans 5: 3-5

Mario Party

2009-08-02T17:11:00.005-04:00

I just thought i would let the world know that i love Mario Party 8 for the Wii. It is a great game of bonding and it keeps you from getting hurt like in the Nintendo 64's version of Mario Party.

Examples.

You would think their would be some cool story being my stigmata but their isn't. I was playing against Lindsay Carol Stroud aka My girlfriend = the woman i am madly in love with... that is right, i said it... MADLY IN LOVE WITH.

So any who, i was playing and there was a game where you had to spin the joystick as quick as possible and so i just went crazy and spun with the center of my hand for thirty seconds strait and after it was all done i looked down and noticed that my hand was blistered and in just a smidgen of pain.

All of this to say that i did dominate her that game and i was the SUPERSTAR!

Bread

2009-07-29T22:01:00.004-04:00

Daily Bread.

These words are pretty simple, yet have so much meaning to them. On there own they are pretty useless but when you combine them with something so infinite, something so powerful, something so... beautiful and mighty, these words bring life, hope, peace, and joy. These words, Daily Bread bring money, shelter, full, quenched. These words are... really incomprehensible and the only reason why is because they are what our heavenly father provides us.

For a long while now, probably since around the beginning of the year, my mindset on prayer has drastically changed. As my views on prayers changed i started praying in a different way and something i usually do is pray the Lords prayer in the morning... you know start my day off with a little scripture, truth, life.

So for those of you who may not know what the "Lords Prayer" is... here it is, from Matthew 6: 9-13

"Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts,

as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil."

Honestly, until recently, which is after many months of saying this scripture over, something dawned on me... "Give us this day our daily bread." This verse hit me so hard and it makes me smile even now as i read it. God is in control. God has everything and can give everything. God wants us to ask him for what we need that day. This verse is us saying, "God i don't know what today has in store for me but i know that i need you and i want you to provide for me the food that i will need to survive, the shelter i will need to survive, the clothes i need for today, the money for the things i need, God please give me LIFE."

These verses our so amazing. I stinking love them and the life and the joy and the everything that they bring. It is such a comfort knowing that God will give me what i need for that day. God has this amazing journey for me... for each one of us and i am just hoping and praying that i will continue to have the faith and trust in him to provide what i need. I mean what a relief that is, to know that what i need: shelter, food, money, clothes is provided for by my heavenly father who has everything.

So know that God desires to provide for us so that we can bring him glory. He isn't providing the winning lottery number but he is providing the money for groceries and food and shelter. He isn't providing all of the items we have in our house but he is providing the essential things we need to survive day to day. He provides the heat in the cold and the cold in the heat. He provides us with life abundantly instead of the death that we bring upon ourself. God is a provider, but within that we must realize it isn't easy, it may not seem perfect and it may seem scary, but it is always good and for his purpose and glory.

He provides for us our what we need. He provides for his glory.

Daily Bread.

So Games

2009-07-24T18:13:00.003-04:00

So i just thought i would put up a random blog as i wait for William Gregory Britt III is setting up some stuff on his phone. And the blog consists of this. I love Call of Duty: World at War. I mean it is one fantastic game and i especially love killing zombies and all of the fun levels offered. If you have a PS3 or that other lame system X-box whatever or a Wii, then you should probably get it.

I mean it is a great bonding time with friends plus a really great game with good graphics. I mean you should totally check it out and buy one at your nearest retail store.

I know i know

2009-07-17T20:19:00.003-04:00

It has been like a year since i have last blogged but i just wanted to let everyone know that it is going down in China town... and i will start blogging every so often. I mean God is doing some pretty cool and amazing things in my life and i just want to share them, not that i am anything special but i think i have a story to tell and a few people who would like to hear about it.

Rest

2009-05-15T11:10:00.002-04:00

Last night was an interesting night for me, in driving home from my friends i was just overcome with this somber mood. I think it is God really pre-paring my heart for missions in the future, but i don't know.

I also got a text from someone incredibly important to me and in essence it was one that she was asking for prayer.

I think both these things made me realize that all we need is God's love, and that God is love. That concept is something that we all forget and overlook though. So on the way home i was listening to this band called Parachute that i just discovered on iTunes. The song was She Is Love. I don't know there meaning behind it, or if it has some super hidden cool story, but what i did was changed the words to HE is love, and HE is all i need. Basically wherever she was sung, i put HE or GOD. The song is amazing, and last night as i heated up some sausage links and poured a glass of milk i just went on my back porch and rested in the beauty of the night.

I am still feeling this somber or thought provoking mood. I don't know where i am going or headed but what i do know is that God is love and he is all we need.

Solo

2009-05-15T10:54:00.003-04:00

Last Sunday, aka Mothers Day, i saw a movie with my mom and brother called the soloist. I really enjoyed the movie and thought it was great. Not to spoil anything about it, but at one point Jamie Foxx's character ends up going to this community center Called LAMP Community. This community is right in the middle of the slums, the projects, the worst of the worst of Los Angeles full of the poor, brokenhearted, lost, confused, mentally ill.

My thought during this movie was that our world is so broken, not just because there are people homeless and hurting, but because there is just so much hurt and pain going on around us. I don't think i could comprehend how much struggles and troubles there really are.

As i was thinking about this fact that our world is broken i thought, "i can do nothing about it." You may be saying Paul that isn't true, you can do plenty of things to change the world around you and i would only partially agree. I am not saying that i have nothing to give, because i have tons of shirts and jeans and other items. I am not saying that i have nothing to offer, i am just saying that on my own i am nothing and without God's grace and love i can give nothing with meaning. Only by God loving me can i truly love others.

This movie just re-confirms my call to missions and i love that. I can't wait to see how God will use me to help the brokenhearted, lost, and confused. I can't wait to see how i am changed. I can't wait to really see the world as He really sees the world.

I am nothing and have nothing to give, but because of God, i can change the world. Because of the passion he has put in my life, i can help others and be a part of the joy that is around me... meaning that even though people have nothing, they still have joy, they still dance and sing, which is another scene that you will see in the movie.

One thing i have learned and what i will end with is this. Just because they are poor and homeless, doesn't mean people who are poor, hurt, mentally ill have no joy or anything to live for. There is joy in all situations and i want to be a part of it, or unveil peoples eyes to it.

Will you join me?

A Reply to The Matt Scott ladies and gentleman.

2009-04-17T20:20:00.008-04:00

So my friends blog is being a little sketchy so this post is actually a reply to his Post... Make Sense?

OK!

Before you read my reply, read his post, it is very very.... You guessed it... interesting.

Matt Scott's Post: Conversing With The Other

Enjoy

Matt, is interesting to hear you say that you struggled to listen and hear what others say. Well only sort of now that i really think about it. One reason being the fact that your wife loves you for being so open to hear her thoughts and opinions on things as you grow together. But i also understand how you could consider yourself struggling with that with the desire to question everything (most everything) and not just listen.

But it is fun and actually really cool for me to hear you are a part of a group, a cohort as you put it, of diverse people with multiple views. Excited and wish i had something of the sort. (Hint hint) i mean i would just like to visit, but that is off point.

What i am trying to say is that i am sure you could realize at times it is hard for me to just listen. Just listen and not offer advice or thoughts or whatever i feel i should, but then i just rest and am still and God has grown me in that. One last thing, just a thought, bullet point number two seems contradictory to itself and the blog. Maybe i am just putting a different light on it. But... lets discuss.

Freedom

2009-04-11T11:40:00.004-04:00

Freedom isn't really free, ever heard of those cheesy quotes. I mean sure they could be true and some would say they are but lets be honest... free or not, we really don't live with freedom.

Christian or not, we really don't live in freedom.

American or not, we really don't live in freedom.

This thought of what if i really lived in the freedom that i was given has hit me hard. I find myself falling into the same traps, snares, (sins) over and over again. I find myself putting back on chains and shackles that really have no locks to hold me down. I find myself reverting back to my old self, to my old ways when there is so much joy and brightness ahead of me. I find myself living in slavery.

It seems kinda funny that most people that get the taste of freedom never want to go back to slavery, but over time they slowly realize that with slavery their was guarantees of what was going to happen and what you could expect. They realize that with some forms of slavery there is comfort and short term pleasure.

Now don't hear me saying that slavery is good and people loved and African Americans should still be picking cotton because that is not what i am saying at all.

If you look in the old testament, when freedom got tuff, the Israelites complained and wanted the comfort and guarantees of slavery. If you looked at anyone around you, even after they escaped from their addictions or corrupted actions, you still find them struggling not to turn back to their old self and go into the sureness of their highs and problems.

Slavery is an evil demonic thing. Slavery goes beyond the physical and goes into the spiritual realm. Slavery goes beyond what we can see and into the human psyche. Slavery corrupts and makes you see roses when really it is all thorns. Slavery makes you smell fresh Krispy Kreme Donuts when really it is a vile putrid rotting carcass. Slavery makes you see beauty instead of the pain, hurt, guilt, remorse that really comes with it. Slavery is corrupting and easy while freedom is life giving yet so hard.

Slavery... Freedom...

Which are you living in?

How different would we be if we really lived in freedom, if we let love when out. I keep falling back into slavery, but in all honesty... I AM FREE! I WANT TO LIVE IN THIS FREEDOM! I WANT TO BE FREE, and yet i am... but still live in chains that i put over myself.

Do you want to be different? Do you want to live in the freedom that Christ died for. Heck if you don't believe in Jesus Christ, do you just want to escape from the pain that these short term pleasures bring you. Do you want to live in the freedom that each one of us is given, or in the slavery that has been taken away from us.

Slavery it goes beyond the physical, i hope you realize that, and i hope you choose freedom, but don't just say it... act it out. Lets see if we can hold each other to this freedom. Ehhh, sound good?

Climbing with the Bro's

2009-04-06T16:37:00.004-04:00

So yesterday after picking up one of my great friends from the Ritz in Buckhead i went climbing at Escalade climbing gym with my brothers minus one of them.

Erik and Michael went climbing with me and it was a ton of fun. I am just glad that we got to bond and hang out a little. Little sad that Conrad couldn't come because his church went long but hey... maybe next time.

Well, it was a blast just showing them the ropes, pun intended, of Escalade and letting them try out all of the different routs. They did pretty good and Erik even had some hidden skills and Michael had some endurance in his arms, maybe it is from working at PCE. Any who, i just wanted to let you all know that it was a blast.

I mean even if Mike did fall, fly across the room and slide on the floor and gently hit someone, we made up a rout. Any who, we did a lot of climbers and i feel that i was able to be better at gripping all of the stuff. I mean i have been working towards that. I still didn't complete some routs that i would have loved to, still need to build endurance and hand grip, but hey, that just means i know right where to go from the beginning so i can bust it out and rock it.

Well that is all, hopefully there will be some more posts in relation to me and the brothers hanging out.

I miss him.

2009-04-06T16:26:00.003-04:00

I know this blog is going to sound... peculiar but i am WAY ok with that.

I MISS Andrew Walden. Let me explain why...

He got married this past weekend to an amazing woman now known as Claire Miller Walden. I know i know, great last name. So any who, i am beyond pumped and excited for them and this journey that they get to share, even a little envious, but i know i am supposed to wait, and i am sorta ok with that. I can't wait to discover who my beautiful bride is. But none of the last few sentences have really shed any light onto this missing of Andrew Walden.

So during the wedding i was talking to a friend named Greg Britt and we mentioned how are relationship with Andrew is going to change, and the amount of time we see him will change. All things that are ok and i am good with... even though i hate change.

All this to say that this whole marriage thing has really set in for me and i just miss Andrew, so much so it is making me not even care about Call of Duty (COD), and i love COD. I mean we used to play at night and last night around 11:30 he had twitted that he had gone to bed, and on a normal night before this weekend he would have been bright eyed and bushy tailed playing with us.

I just miss him

But, i would hate for him to choose games or us over his wife, not because it is the first week of marriage but because i mean really, lets be honest, she is way more important. So Andrew i am sad about the changes, i hate the changes, but i love them all at the same time.

Enjoy the youth and beauty of your bride. I am pumped for you and welcome the change with open arms.

Hectic Morning

2009-03-24T12:50:00.003-04:00

Well this morning kinda sucked. I have been a little sleep deprived because of a small addiction to COD (Call of Duty: World at War) don't get any crazy ideas. haha

I mean even if i didn't mention that game i still am just not going to bed early so that kinda took a toll on me today. Basically i had about 2 hours of sleep the night before and so my body thought it would be a great idea to make up for some of that sleep this morning, you know, when i was supposed to be places.

Well this morning started with a call from Andrew Walden because we were playing at Walton's FCA this morning. He had called me twice before and i had slept through 3 different alarms on my phone before getting his call. So i completely missed that FCA. Luckily i was only playing hand percussion and not guitar or speaking.

So then my day continued to suck as a stayed awake for about 45 minutes as i tried to go back to bed for another hour and a half before waking up for school. 3 hours later i wake up when i am supposed to be leaving for class. I mean COME ON!!! REALLY, i couldn't believe that i had slept through another alarm after i pushed the snooze buttons a few times. So i rushed off to school, or really tried to before remembering that my parking decal thing was not in my car and so i spent 15 minutes searching for it before finding it in between my Bibles that i put in my back pack.

So i get to class 30 minutes late but only after my teacher had left the class a little angry. So any who my day was crazy and hectic but i wasn't ever really worried the whole time. Sure i was a little stressed but i listened to some praise and worship music and just drove to school. Honestly my morning has been crazy and hectic but in all of this mess i have the faith and trust in God that it is all going to be ok.

On the other hand, my teacher who left in a furry doens't believe in God and because of things that didn't go as planned with the class, and because of the economy and the state of the United States, she is worried out of her mind. Because she doesn't have a faith in something greater, God, she has no hope and she feels the weight of the world is on her shoulders. She feels that she has to fix everything.

It is interesting to me how having faith and a hope in something more then yourself can be so relaxing. It is interesting to me that having faith and trust and a real God who desires to advance His kingdom can be so peaceful and stress relieving. Also, in the midst of all this, it is amazing how we as believers can unveil peoples eyes to the hope, joy and peace that is really around us all the time. God gives us these opportunities and a group member of mine from that class is burdened for our teacher.

How amazing is God!

How has he lead you through stressful times peacefully? Comment and let me know.

BOO YAH!

Not about ME

2009-03-20T13:48:00.003-04:00

Something so obvious but something so true... It is not about me. I mean I have realized this for quite some time but i think it takes new meaning as i go over it in my head.

I know this phrase means to me that life is not about me. That i am not the end all be all. That i have nothing to give. That humility needs to reign in my life instead of arrogance.

But something more clear has come up since i have really started thinking about this phrase and that is this, life can and will go on without me. I do not have to be a part of everything that is going on around me ministry wise and life wise.

The biggest thing for me honestly is realizing that as much as i want to help out North Metro, or SWAT Ministries or whatever have you, it isn't about me. The things i do for those ministries are things that God is allowing me to do and accomplish only because of his mercy and grace. If something good happens, it isn't because of me, it is because i listened to Gods plan and was who he designed me to be. This is something i am still trying to grasp and hold onto.

This Summer i will be doing missions all the way across the world and it is going to be an adventure. It has been a tuff time getting to a place where i feel ok to go, but that is not really the point of this blog. Since i am going to this place all the way across the world i am missing out on plenty of ministry opportunities. I am missing out working for the GBC this Summer, I am missing out doing many keeps like ones and Texas and one put on by SWAT. I am also missing out on working with North Metro in many other areas instead of just this mission trip. As i have thought about all these opportunities this one phrase comes to mind, "It isn't about me."

It isn't about me serving with the GBC, SWAT, or churches. Life is about where God has me going. Life is about living to the hilt of where God has you. Life is about God. Life is about living love. Life is far more about the other instead of about me. Life, my life, has nothing to do with me. My life has to do with living for God, being who he has made me anew. My life is about serving. My life... haha, My, it is funny that i keep on using that word.

Gods life is about doing what is planned and purposed to advance HIS kingdom. Gods life is about being humble and not worrying about these opportunities missed but living fully where HE is taking me.

I hope you get that last paragraph, because it is not about Paul Michael Stippich, it is about God. It is about everything but me and the opportunities missed, because in all honesty i have not and will not miss anything, i am exactly where God has planned for me to be.

Subtle reminder

2009-02-27T00:41:00.006-05:00

So i was having some free dinner with a friend at Chick-Fil-A at East Lake when all of a sudden a certain man walks behind me and just starts talkin to me.

Not to mention any names or go into any details, but let's just stay he was not in a perfect state of mind. I am not judging or incriminating, i just want a more full picture painted of this story. So as i begin to talk to this guy i discover, and he outright tells, he is not in a "perfect" drug free state of mind. As we talk he just opens up and shares so much about himself. He mentions that his birthday is next Tuesday and so i wish him an early happy birthday. He mentions he is 26 and then he asks how old i am. I tell him i am 21 and he asked if i got drunk and i said that i didn't. So he jumps ship and says that he goes to church too.

I love the connections there. Not being drunk on your 21st birthday means that you are a Christian, or at least go to church or are a Southern Baptist. Ha.

But he continues to open up and share his story and i mention that i go to Echo and North Metro, a non-denominational church, and he gets interested and says he would love to come, especially to Echo.

Well after all of that and as we finish our conversation he says that we should hang out. So i respond with "Yah, if you come to Echo we can sure hang out." So we said a few more things and then i went on about eating my dinner as he gets his hand spun milkshake.

So i think to myself, why does he have to come to me for us to hang out? Why does he have to be in the right state of mind for us to do things together? Why is this about me and doing what is best for me? I understand that there is some wisdom in being careful about how the hanging out would go down, but why does it have to be about me?

I immediately thought of Jesus and how he met others where they were at. He met others in their greatest need's no matter the problems or junk that they had going on in their life. I was thinking to myself, "What if I met others in their great need?" How different would my life be? How uncomfortable would i be? As i walked away from this gentleman with a phrase of basically come to me under these guidelines i thought of how selfish i was.

God seems to be reminding me of quite a few things lately and i will be sure to blog later about them, but as for now, he seems to be reminding me of this question of how different would my life be if i sacrificed myself and did things that would make me more like Jesus. More like a man who trusts instead of tries.

What if i trusted in God to change lives including mine, and what if i trusted God to break me of my wants and meet others where they are at, where they are hurt, where they are struggling, and where there is death and pain.

I am...

2009-02-27T00:37:00.003-05:00

Australian!

Yes it is true. I know work at the Australian bakery in the Marietta Square.

I love love (Oh Brett Younker) working there with a passion. It has been so much fun. It is a job that consists of everything from running the register, making different Australian and American delicacies to dipping sheet cake in chocolate and rolling it around in some coconut.

I mean i really do love this job and i am going to give some partial credit to a big Rob McDeezy.

Well it has been a blast so far getting to know everyone that works there and getting to meet a ton of regulars. I mean some of these people even have tabs, how cool is that.

Well i hope to see you around this awesome bakery getting some great Australian goodies and desserts. Give me some mo of those.

Oh Hey Jeremiah 29:11

2009-02-17T11:14:00.001-05:00

Jeremiah 29:10-14 (English Standard Version)

10"For thus says the LORD: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place. 11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. 13 You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. 14I will be found by you, declares the LORD, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the LORD, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile."

So i have slowly been reading through the bible this past 3/4th's of a year.

Now after reading quite a few books of the Old Testament i am in the book of Jeremiah, and i seem to be at what is everyones favorite chapter and verse, Jeremiah 29:11

It was kinda funny though, i was reading Jeremiah 29 not really thinking about anything im-particular like, ewww Jeremiah 29:11 is coming up, what a popular verse. To be honest it kinda caught me by surprise... and i am glad that it did because i saw something that i only partly understood before.

To forgo delving into my past with this scripture lets just go into the now. So let me just say this, context is everything.

It seems that everyone uses Jeremiah 29:11 as pure encouragement that everything is in control, that everything in your life is going to go great because God has a plan for you, that you just need to sit back and relax and God will take care of your situations, just follow him and you will be ok. I think this verse has so much more meaning, and honestly verse 11 is just something that is really squeezed in there. Yes this verse packs a nice punch, but all 28 chapters and ten verses before make it truly worth reading.

Verse ten is where it is at and it seems we always skip over this verse. After 70 years of going through struggles and being torn away from their home do things only start going well for the Israelites, Gods chosen people. This verse is beautiful because it gives you reality. It shows you that life isn't a cakewalk, but that it will be tough. God desires us to follow him and trust him. God wants us to pursue him, not necessarily for 70 years before he will do something, but God is bringing us through a tough yet rewarding process.

As we read on we see that God then calls us to REALLY REALLY Seek after him. Not just say, God is in control and i don't need to do anything. I mean these verses say "seek him, WITH ALL YOUR HEART." That is huge, that is bigger then just sitting around.

I think God is beautiful and amazing. I am so excited to be reading the Bible all the way through. I am thrilled that he shows me the beauty that he has created and the literal sweetness of his word.

Glory to God, and in giving him glory, look around at the context, look at what he is trying to lead you through, because he truly does have a plan that he knows will rock your world.

Just for your 411

2009-02-17T00:50:00.003-05:00

I would also like to mention that i am slowly... and i mean slowly creating my own website which will be located at www.paulstippich.com.

It is far from complete, but as i start creating and shaping this website, i will fill you in on the purpose and method for which i am creating it. Lets just say it will go much deeper than this blog can go and i feel it will be more helpful to others.

Mmmm mmmm relationships and connections.

Late night switch to morning

2009-02-17T00:47:00.003-05:00

Well, i just thought i would blog about being addicted to Call of Duty 5 (Call of Duty: World at War)

This game is crazy fun and i am getting a lot better. I mean although my kill to death ratio isn't the best, i put it on the fact that i go more for challenges instead of just strait killing. I know this doesn't make much sense to most people, but it will to Greg, Andrew, Matt, Paul, and so many others.

Oh and as for the post that is much deeper, i am moving it to tomorrow morning, well this morning, it will give me something to wake up to.

BOOYAH!

Australia... Here i come?

2009-02-16T12:11:00.004-05:00

Well Australia... i am not actually coming to your beautiful little country, well right now that is but i am going to a beautiful little bakery off of the Marietta Square for a job interview.

I hope it will go well because then i can rightfully speak in an Australian accent and throw shrimps on the barbie. Ewww hopefully i get that job. But honestly i am ok with whatever happens. God has this all in control. In fact there might be another blog today about a little Jeremiah 29... and yes for those of you thinking here comes verse 11. We are going to dive in just a little deeper then that.

The only thing with this interview at 2 today, is that they said weekends are a must and i am just not going to give up my Sundays. The hours of the bakery are a little estranged and so they would completely conflict with my Sunday so i can't give them up. Aside from that i think i have a fair shot. I mean this will be the first realish job in over a year. Not that i have not been working for over a year, i have just been doing events and such that are not constant jobs.

So hopefully i will soon be able to speak with a new accent and have a new and fun job. BOTH BAKING and maybe even a little BUTCHERING. Wow, Butchering kinda seems a little scary. Thoughts, comments concerns.

Let me know.

UPDATE:

I think the interview with the bakery went really well. Seems like a cool job and something that i want to do for this little season of life.

Balentines Day

2009-02-15T15:28:00.003-05:00

February 14th. I think is probably one of my favorite holidays. Right now because it means cheap candy the next day, but i am sure some time in the future the reason for it being my favorite will expand to biblical proportions.

Yes, i mean exactly what you think.

So skipping on along from that, i just wanted to say that i am not one of those people who are bummed out about a day focussed on dates and love because honestly, i am content where i am. Now i am not saying that if an irish or scottish accented (or just the right) woman showed up on my doorstep with a plate of soggy / crunchy bacon i would not get hitched right away. All i am saying is that i am loving where God has me. I am enjoying this time of waiting and growing. I am enjoying this time where my focus is on him and serving him in some pretty fun and amazing ways from playing hand percussion to hanging out with six grade guys.

So i just thought in honor of Balentines Day that i would say that i don't hate it, i love it because one day i will get to really enjoy it and have one more excuse to lavish my wife with some gifts.

Mmmm, sappy yes, but all good and honest truth.

Walking Dogs

2009-02-09T11:12:00.004-05:00

So i am trying to be a little more healthy these days.

Now that doesn't mean i am on some crazy diet because i never really want to be on one of those, and this doesn't mean i am doing some crazy work out routine... my hernia keeps me from all of those crazy shenanigans.

This means i am eating a little better, drinking a smidge more water and doing a little work out now and then.

So besides all this i want to fill you in on one more thing. I hate running, to me it is just blah. I don't like it, especially by myself, i mean if i had company it becomes a whole other story. So i figure i know i need some exercise and i am pretty sure all my dogs over here: G-Baby, Sonic, and Bruiser need some exercise too.

So i have decided to break out a little training schedule (not really though, i just thought that sounded so cool and intense) and walk , Bruiser, and jog the other boys on different days. So hopefully this will result in a little healthier me. Yay!!!

Plans

2009-02-07T15:57:00.003-05:00

So this Thursday i found out some really exciting and thrilling news. You wanna hear what it is?

I have the pleasure of Graduating in December 09 instead of May 09. I know, what a treat right? The reason why is because i have to drop. Now it isn't because i am failing the class soooo badly right now that i wont be able to pass, it just overlaps with a capstone class for PR, which is my Major and we just can't have that.

Well i just found out it overlaps because i looked at my syllabus, something that was not shown to us until a couple weeks in and the first class ended promptly when a normal 12:30 class should end... 1:45.

So i talked to the teacher and all in all it was a no, i have to be there the entire class from 12:30 to 3:15 which i can't do because i really really need to be at my PR Campaigns class from 2 to 3:15.

Any who, i found out about this all, this past Tuesday and it just hit me, God has these amazing plans which are so much better then mine.

Proverbs 19:21 (New Living Translation)

21 You can make many plans,
but the Lord’s purpose will prevail.

I think this scripture is so huge and i have never really comprehended the fullness of it until this week. It seems to me that all these little plans that i create come to fruition, but the big ones... God takes them shakes it up and his unseen, only for the time being, purpose prevails.

I am pumped, thrilled, excited, ecstatic even to see what he brings. I have no problem actually graduating in December it just seems to me that i don't need to worry because the Lord has things in control. It is just cool to me to see how God has prepared my heart and plans to help me comfortably except this little bump in the road. God is amazing and i have loved seeing how he has shaped me and prepared me for all that he has in store. My plans are many and sometimes small, but the Lords are always so simplistically beautiful, even if it takes a few years of set up.

God is good and i love his plans. Even if they are drastically different then mine.

Summer confusion

2009-02-02T13:12:00.003-05:00

I am sure i will write, type more on this topic later, but i figure i wanted to give you something to look forward to. Plus i feel i should just let you in on my life.

This Summer is going to be the start of a new life for me. I am pumped and thrilled because i am done with college... well only for a little while. I will have graduated with a four year degree which i think is a pretty huge deal. My degree will be in Communication's with a Public Relations focus. I will also graduate with a related studies in Human Services with a Not-For-Profit focus, which is pretty rockin. All in all, i will have done a lot. I wish i could have tried a little harder but i had to break, and still do, some bad and lazy habits.

Beyond my degree i am free from school for as long as i choose, which wont be that long, but the Summer, man it is just full of so many possibilities and i am thrilled to see what God brings my ways. There are going to be some huge changes, some that i know, and others that i don't. But no matter the case i am excited and thrilled about each and everyone of them.

But, as excited as i am, i am completely lost. I have a ton of opportunities before me to travel the world and serve God. Because, honestly, i want to serve others and love on others doing mission trips for a year or two, or maybe more when i am out of college. I never want to really go into the business world but i for sure want to die to myself and live for God wherever he calls me whether here or abroad. I have opportunities in EA, Jamaica, and other places here in the US, but i have no idea what to do. I mean it is far away so no real worries, but I just want some peace in the matter to be honest, so... if you all wouldn't mind, help me pray for all of that.

Well i am excited for what God is showing me and where he is leading me so expect a change to the layout of this and expect great and mighty stories to be shared because of my God's glory.

Million and One

2009-02-02T13:10:00.002-05:00

I have been given a million and one thing's to write about, and yet i don't. I say i want to blog, and yet i don't.

Why?

Great question, i think it is because of laziness and being uncomfortable, but my friends this is changing. God has given me a gift, a forum of encouragement and i plan on using it. So i hope that you will continue to enjoy this journey of life with me. Lets kick this back up again.

BooYah

-Paul

Baker

2009-01-14T14:01:00.004-05:00

So i have a pretty busy weekend coming up and i will take pictures (maybe, not too sure) and be writing about it in a couple of future blogs, so get your engines revved up for some good old reading with me.

Besides that i just wanted to say that i am going to check out a bakery today to see what it is all about and to see if they are hiring. Because if you don't know this already, i would love to be a butcher or a baker but not a candle stick maker... so just get that crazy rhyme out of your head. :)

Death, Silver, Poison, Healing

2009-01-11T23:59:00.003-05:00

I am just going to jump head first into these scriptures so yep, read away my friends, read away:

Proverbs 10:20-21 (New International Version)

20 The tongue of the righteous is choice silver,   but the heart of the wicked is of little value.
21 The lips of the righteous nourish many,   but fools die for lack of judgment.

Proverbs 11:11-12 (New International Version)
11 Through the blessing of the upright a city is exalted,   but by the mouth of the wicked it is destroyed.
12 A man who lacks judgment derides his neighbor,   but a man of understanding holds his tongue.

Proverbs 12:18-19 (New International Version)
18 Reckless words pierce like a sword,   but the tongue of the wise brings healing.
19 Truthful lips endure forever,   but a lying tongue lasts only a moment.

Proverbs 15:4 (New International Version)
4 The tongue that brings healing is a tree of life,   but a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit.

Psalm 39:1 (New International Version)
For the director of music. For Jeduthun. A psalm of David.
1 I said, "I will watch my ways
and keep my tongue from sin;
I will put a muzzle on my mouth
as long as the wicked are in my presence."

In reading over these verses it is so clear to me that the tongue is such a powerful... lets say instrument.

For awhile now God has been ruling me with the thoughts and ideas of allowing him complete control of my tongue. I have found myself at times saying crude things, hurtful, and crippling things. Sometimes i may say something to others but most of the time it is usually in the company of just myself.

God has been laying it on my heart to control my tongue because it brings life... or death, Silver... or rubbish, Healing... or poison, Love... or hate, LIFE... OR DEATH. These words are a constant reminder for me, so i looked up some verses to not only help me write this blog, but also to remind me of the power of what God has blessed me with.

Our tongue's can be used for good or bad, we have the option of choosing God... or the devil, Others... or ourselves. Our Tongue can build up walls and bring healing, or crumble nations and bring death and decay. I don't think i am going over the line here by giving such drastic examples. God is showing me the power of something he has created.

By God showing me this power that he has allowed me. I desire to watch what i say, especially in the company of others. I don't want to be a person who brings others down for a laugh. I want people to leave my presence with a sweet taste in their mouth. I want people to feel encouraged when they are around me. I want to bring life, silver, healing, Love. I want to bring peace and joy. I want God to help me control my tongue, forgo crude jokes, skip the laughs and live love.

Help pray for me as God takes back his tongue, and as i bring life to others. Oh and by the way... you have the same choice.

A Taste

2008-12-31T15:00:00.000-05:00

Today as YEC ended it's first session of the first something amazing happened, people made some amazing decisions with God. People came to Christ for the first time, recommitted, and decided many other things.

I think it was quite amazing and my only thought that consumed my mind was that i was being a part of something amazing. Literally as Brock Gill finished up his talk after some amazing and death defying illusions, hundreds of kids poured out of the stands and seats to come and make commitments and covenants with their Lord. It was so beautiful.

As i saw the space we had designated for all of this fill up it was so moving, emotions just welling up inside waiting to explode. All i could think about was just praising God and my thoughts were "Amen. Amen. Amen!"

And as i ran through the area full of people making sure things were ready for the night i felt as if i was going in slow motion. I felt, as i answered questions and helped others, that i was getting a taste of what is to come. I just felt like this is what i was going to be a part of. I felt that God was allowing me to see the joy that He has set up. I felt that i had nothing to offer but my heavenly pops had everything under control. I know that i have nothing, but it was such a blessing to experience this joy with others, this new experience, and watching peoples eyes be unveiled to God's beauty.

I need God more then God needs me. That phrase is very prevalent and very humbling in my life right now. I really do think i was given a taste of joy and a taste of my future of what is to come.

Amen. Amen Amen!

Following Dad

2008-12-16T19:02:00.006-05:00

This blog post isn't what it seems.

Not to go into any detail really, if you want to know more about this post... just ask and i will give you the 411.

Just know that i am following Dad in where he leads me and with what he is showing me. A hard decision was made today, but it was a decision made that makes it so i don't go halfsies on Dad.

I want to follow him completely wherever and however he leads me. I am excited to see how by saying no to an opportunity the doors he will open and the experiences he will allow me to have.

FTS 3 Years Running

2008-12-16T13:00:00.004-05:00

So some of you may not know this but i am best friends with Frosty The Snowman.

I mean we only see each other once a year for the Eastsides Christmas play but we get through those long periods of silence and love each other regardless.

Yah, me and him are pretty tight, just check out some of these pictures.

My 6th Grade Boys

2008-12-16T12:38:00.005-05:00

So i am leading a small group of sixth grade boys. They are pretty rockin. We meet as a small group for North Metro Church at their middle school gathering on Wednesdays called Sublime. It is an awesome time.

It is funny to see how the size of my group changes so drastically from week to week but also to see how in depth my boys go from time to time. There has been a lot of growth in this fall semester and it will be interesting to see how God rocks their and my world. I am excited to be their small group leader and to see where God leads us.

I plan on staying with these guys as long as i can.

But more importantly... on to the pictures below. On the last Sublime of the semester we had a joint meeting with both high school and middle school students. It was a great time where God spoke to the students in some huge ways. Also, it was in December so as a small group challenge they said the groups would get 100 points for every student and leader in the group wearing a tacky christmas sweater... so my boys forgot their sweaters but luckily i brought some extras so we could get a total of 400 points. I mean i am pretty excited about it. And so, without further waiting... here are some pictures.

This is a picture of what God is laying on students heart.

Absolutely beautiful and amazing.

This is probably one of the sexiest men alive... Joe Shelton

And these guys, they are MY BOYS!

These are just some of the guys that are unreal.

Serving Whine

2008-12-07T14:09:00.004-05:00

I realized today that serving and complaining, yah, they just don't go together.

I find myself serving at times and just complaining the whole way through. Or better yet, i will find i am serving and in the right state of mind and then i look over and complain about someone else who isn't working as hard or who i think has just come to help so they can look good in front of others.

How selfish am i to think that i know the reasons behind peoples methods, and whether my guess of another individual is serving so they can look better is correct, it doesn't matter. Not because i am supposed to mind my own business but because they are doing a part in helping others. Sure it may not be for the right purposes but it is not for me to judge. It is for me to encourage because God can use our selfish sinful actions for his glory if he chooses.

I know that sounds a little sketch God using our selfish and sinful actions, but it is true. God is in control of all things and can bring out beauty in our shame, and can bring out love in our selfishness.

But back to the beginning. I was helping a friend today carry a box. I thought we were both going to be carrying a box but it turns out he just wanted me to help him. So i was carrying a box that was decently heavy all by myself. Also, it wasn't like i had to move it from one room to another, i had to walk all the way around the inside of the church and then walk around the building and a even a little bit further to get to the parking lot that he had parked in. From the beginning of getting the box i had complained and whines from time to time. Half way through this ordeal i realized that one, the guy i was helping always helps me without complaining and two, what good is my help if i am whining? What good is my help if i really don't love this guy? What good is my help if I whine while serving? My help is nothing.

You pick that up, my help means nothing if i whine while serving. When i whine, it certainly isn't benefiting me and i know it may only hurt the other person.

So as i finished carrying the box i just kinda shut up and walked on, and even still i made a sarcastic comment or two i think. This whole story to say, that i really do want to be a man of love, service and sacrifice, and the only way i can even begin to grow to be that kinda man is giving all of me for all of Him. Giving all of me and serving with no whining. Giving all of me and giving up my comforts and all of myself to live love to YOU and others.

I bring nothing

2008-12-03T23:41:00.003-05:00

As i have stated before God is changing my heart for missions and traveling around serving others. God is breaking my heart for what breaks his and giving me a BHAG that only he can accomplish. And i realize my weakness and that only God can accomplish what he wants me to do. I realize that with his power and with his leading that i can and will do anything.

But i found myself praying the other day, "Help me bring joy, help me bring peace, help me bring comfort to those in need. God as you bring me to these places help me bring..." And i realized and caught myself halfway through this prayer, that i bring nothing. That i have nothing to give. That i don't honestly do a thing, but God allows me to witness what he has already brought to other places around the world.

I think it is pretty selfish and pretty arrogant of us to think that God hasn't already been to certain areas of the world. Missionaries are always saying we are going to bring God to these places. No you are not. I hate to mention this but he is already there in those places doing amazing things. he is just waiting for us to go. So as i was praying i realized and remembered that God is the creator of all things, and i can only give because he gave me whatever it is that i am giving.

You following along, or is this clear as mud?

So i realized that as God brings me around the world i get to partake in the joy, peace, and laughter of those that are already there. I get to partake in the sadness, hurt, and pain that is already there. I also get the privilege of opening peoples eyes... the ones that are sad, the ones that are in hurting, the ones that are in pain to see the joy, peace and laughter that is really there in front of them.

I bring nothing. I only get the honor of experiencing what is already there, and opening peoples eyes to what the devil and his demons have blinded them from.

Searching

2008-12-01T14:18:00.005-05:00

It seems i am searching for something.

It seems that i am supposed to be learning something.

I find myself looking on the internet at nothing in-particular for long periods of time when i could be filling my mind with knowledge and could be trying hard in school... Yet i just search.

I seem to be searching for worth in many thing from people, girls, drums... These are the things that come to mind right now, but i am pretty sure in thinking more on this, my world would be utterly shattered as i discover what i am putting my worth into.

It seems as i look for worth in other places, i am missing the big picture. I am missing the fact that my worth is not found in others or in other things, but in God alone. I realize God wants to bless me with many things, but i put my worth into these blessings instead of the giver of those blessings.

I am lost, searching for God knows what. ( I say that literally not like taking his name in vain)

I know my worth is in him, but i seem to be searching. Searching for words, actions, conversations, people. I am just...

Searching.

I AM Wii FIT

2008-11-29T22:05:00.002-05:00

I love Wii Fit, it is sooo stinkin cool. My brother has had it for awhile now, but i have now just started playing it, and it is unreal to me.

I must say that i am becoming Wii Fit.

Now before you mock me and laugh at this post, realize this, that it has work outs that actually work your body and tone it up. I mean i woke up this morning with sore chest and abs. Can any other gaming system do that to yah. Huh... HUH!?!

But seriously, this game is amazing, and i just think you all should know.

My heart is changing

2008-11-29T21:58:00.003-05:00

One of the prayers that i have had for the longest time now, well really since preparing for Alaska, has been that God would open my ears and eyes to the joys and struggles around me.

As i wake up each morning i try and remember to ask for that and for God to break my heart for what break his.

Now, a slight change in thinking, but it will all connect. Any who, for the longest time my heart has been hooked to ministry, more specifically speaking and traveling around doing that. I mean eventually i would love to be either a youth or a lead pastor of a church, but still having the ability to travel around for three months out of the year to go speak at other events. You may be thinking that is a little crazy, but my ministry just isn't within the church i am with. Any who, that desire of ministry has expanded to own my own missions organization setting up service projects around the world, and this desire of mine deserves a whole other blog, but ask me about it and i will gladly tell you.

All of that to come to the title of the blog. My heart is changing. More correctly stated, it is expanding. God is breaking my heart for what breaks his and that is to do missions. I so desire to travel the world serving God rockin it for him. In praying about it and him growing me in this passion i feel a very clear message. That message is to get out of this debt that i have incurred and he will send me wherever he desires me to go.

I am excited to see where God is leading me and to where i will serve. I know and hope that i will be serving people around where i live, which would include my family, but also others in this general area around me. And i can't wait to serve miles away from where i live, like maybe even Africa.

Again, i am just pumped and excited to see where God is taking me and to see how he will continually prepare for where he wants me to go.

Turkey Day!

2008-11-27T14:35:00.004-05:00

I am pretty pumped that my family is here for Turkey day. They came last night and we made some good Indian food and some good old sghetti (spaghetti) with sauce with sausage.

As last night came to an end we stayed up playing Settlers of Catan till 2 a.m. and it was great. hahah, that game is just so good. If you want, i will teach you how to play.

Any who, back to Turkey Day. Everyone is making their own special dishes of food. I am making desserts such as home-made reeses cups, blueberry pie, and that is about it. But one of my brothers is making deviled eggs, getting some sushi maybe, and we are just having some great food. I am stinkin loving it. Oh i love food and turkey day.

Well that is all... for now. I know this was brief but i am not fully focused so maybe it was a good thing. Peace out and A-Town Down.

Turkey, Dublin, Turkey

2008-11-24T12:33:00.004-05:00

So this weekend i went down to good old Dublin Georgia and did a SWAT weekend. I arrived in Athens Friday night to rendezvous with the Delta Force so we could all drive down together and i had some good old SWAT Turkey Day leftovers.

Then i went to Dublin (Story may come in a later blog)

So after an interesting and pretty eye opening weekend i dropped off the Delta Force back in Athens and went to Jon's house to rest and fill up on some good nourishment of leftovers. So i got myself a plate of turkey and the best something in the world (i think stuffing) and went down stairs to watch a movie.

The movie had Matthew McConaughey, Steve Zahn, and everyones favorite from the show The Office, Rainn Wilson. This movie was called Sahara and it was made in 2005 and it was actually pretty good. Any ways there came a part where the water was being poisoned and one of the bad guys realizes that, grows a conscience and tries to get out because he thinks he will get called out for it by the African Government and peoples. Well his partner, the other bad guy tells him that he isn't going to pull out of it and who cares that the water is being poisoned and Africa is slowly dying because... are you ready for this...

"No body cares about Africa"

In hearing that line in the movie my heart broke, because sure, it was just a line in a movie but how true of a line was that. No body really cares about Africa. Sure there is Invisible children and the UN trying to help, but in a world of well over 6 billion people we just don't care about Africa. We just don't care about India, Brazil, Moldova, China, Korea, New Zealand, Alaska, Russia... the list goes on of all that we don't care about. We are called to fight these evils.

"For we do not wrestle against flsh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places." Ephesians 6: 12 ESV

And the best part about this is we are supposed to do this with power and authority, with a fierceness that we, the body of Christ, won't lose.

"And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." Matthew 16:18 ESV

We are called to fight not against people, but against disease, hate, sins, pain, hurt... and this list goes on as well too.

In hearing nobody cares about Africa my heart broke, but that means nothing if i don't take up my calling and fight the devil and his demons. So help me in this cause, i am going to find out what i can do here and abroad, and i want to encourage you to find out how to break this crutch, this gate of not caring, and storm into hell and break the darkness that surrounds peoples lives.

Psalm 106: 19-20

2008-11-24T12:04:00.004-05:00

So i am going through this endeavor of reading through the Bible and even though it is taking me a little longer then i planned on... i am still pushing through and learning ohhh so much. I am in Psalm right now and loving it so much. Well i recently came to a chapter and a couple of verses, hence the title, and they rocked my world. They rocked it so much that after reading the rest of the chapter i had to go back and reflect.

Psalm 106: 19-20

"They made a calf in Horeb and worshiped a metal image. They exchanged the glory of God for the image of an ox that eats grass." (ESV)

I mean wow! WOW! That just stabs me right in the heart. I think about all the things i have traded for the glory of the Lord. I think about how i have forgotten about his great glory and traded him... my God and my worship for him for a few hours of mind-numbing fun with a video game, for a few moments of cuddling with a girl or just to hold her hand. I think about how i have traded that love and worship for God to worship this idol of hate and bitterness towards people closest to me such as family and friends.

This verse cuts deep. What ox, that only eats grass, have you traded your precious and all loving god for?

So long

2008-11-18T17:10:00.002-05:00

Wow, it has been so long since i have done a post, a little over a week. Sorry for the not posting in so long, but I was just at a point of emptiness. Not at a point with no stories, but just couldn't and didn't want to write anything.

But this post... the one you are right now reading, is the beginning of all the new posts that are to come in the recent of days. Some posts, well really all posts of my past week of adventures and some encouragement.

Hope you enjoy,

Paul Stippich

Psalm 18

2008-11-10T13:13:00.003-05:00

Psalm 18, what a great chapter, especially verses 1-6

Psalm 18

The LORD Is My Rock and My Fortress

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, the servant of the LORD, who addressed the words of this song to the LORD on the day when the LORD rescued him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. He said:

I love you, O Lord, my strength.
2 The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,
my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,
my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
3 I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised,
and I am saved from my enemies.

4 The cords of death encompassed me;
the torrents of destruction assailed me;
5 the cords of Sheol entangled me;
the snares of death confronted me.

6 In my distress I called upon the Lord;
to my God I cried for help.
From his temple he heard my voice,
and my cry to him reached his ears.

7 Then the earth reeled and rocked;
the foundations also of the mountains trembled
and quaked, because he was angry.
8 Smoke went up from his nostrils,
and devouring fire from his mouth;
glowing coals flamed forth from him.
9 He bowed the heavens and came down;
thick darkness was under his feet.
10 He rode on a cherub and flew;
he came swiftly on the wings of the wind.
11 He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him,
thick clouds dark with water.
12 Out of the brightness before him
hailstones and coals of fire broke through his clouds.

13 The Lord also thundered in the heavens,
and the Most High uttered his voice,
hailstones and coals of fire.
14 And he sent out his arrows and scattered them;
he flashed forth lightnings and routed them.
15 Then the channels of the sea were seen,
and the foundations of the world were laid bare
at your rebuke, O Lord,
at the blast of the breath of your nostrils.

16 He sent from on high, he took me;
he drew me out of many waters.
17 He rescued me from my strong enemy
and from those who hated me,
for they were too mighty for me.
18 They confronted me in the day of my calamity,
but the Lord was my support.
19 He brought me out into a broad place;
he rescued me, because he delighted in me.

20 The Lord dealt with me according to my righteousness;
according to the cleanness of my hands he rewarded me.
21 For I have kept the ways of the Lord,
and have not wickedly departed from my God.
22 For all his rules were before me,
and his statutes I did not put away from me.
23 I was blameless before him,
and I kept myself from my guilt.
24 So the Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness,
according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.

25 With the merciful you show yourself merciful;
with the blameless man you show yourself blameless;
26 with the purified you show yourself pure;
and with the crooked you make yourself seem tortuous.
27 For you save a humble people,
but the haughty eyes you bring down.
28 For it is you who light my lamp;
the Lord my God lightens my darkness.
29 For by you I can run against a troop,
and by my God I can leap over a wall.
30 This God—his way is perfect;
the word of the Lord proves true;
he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.

31 For who is God, but the Lord?
And who is a rock, except our God?—
32 the God who equipped me with strength
and made my way blameless.
33 He made my feet like the feet of a deer
and set me secure on the heights.
34 He trains my hands for war,
so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
35 You have given me the shield of your salvation,
and your right hand supported me,
and your gentleness made me great.
36 You gave a wide place for my steps under me,
and my feet did not slip.
37 I pursued my enemies and overtook them,
and did not turn back till they were consumed.
38 I thrust them through, so that they were not able to rise;
they fell under my feet.
39 For you equipped me with strength for the battle;
you made those who rise against me sink under me.
40 You made my enemies turn their backs to me,
and those who hated me I destroyed.
41 They cried for help, but there was none to save;
they cried to the Lord, but he did not answer them.
42 I beat them fine as dust before the wind;
I cast them out like the mire of the streets.

43 You delivered me from strife with the people;
you made me the head of the nations;
people whom I had not known served me.
44 As soon as they heard of me they obeyed me;
foreigners came cringing to me.
45 Foreigners lost heart
and came trembling out of their fortresses.

46 The Lord lives, and blessed be my rock,
and exalted be the God of my salvation—
47 the God who gave me vengeance
and subdued peoples under me,
48 who delivered me from my enemies;
yes, you exalted me above those who rose against me;
you rescued me from the man of violence.

49 For this I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations,
and sing to your name.
50 Great salvation he brings to his king,
and shows steadfast love to his anointed,
to David and his offspring forever. (ESV)

I don't know

2008-11-10T13:12:00.002-05:00

Right now... i just dont know. I don't feel like writing anything for a little, so the climbing and the pictures will have to wait.

Sorry. I am just crushed, that is all.

Cutie Batootie!!!

2008-11-10T11:19:00.004-05:00

Well ever since this new creation known as Rylynn entered the world it seems that my sister April has been pulling the Uncle / Brother card on me... and i couldn't be happier. I stinkin love watchin my little nephew Kayle. I mean he is pretty great. I cant wait for Rylynn to get out of her useless baby phase.

I know i know, that sounds so harsh... useless baby phase, but i really just want to play with her. I mean sure we could have fun with her, holding her, moving her mouth and making her talk and say funny things, but ehhh. I mean all she does is just lay there and look cute. Now Kayle on the other hand runs around shouting "Ball, ball" and when you think he is just shouting out that word, all of a sudden, like magic... a ball appears as he finds one.

But anyways, even though i had to bail on watching Kayle for my sister because of a test one morning, i got to make it up a little later, and here are some pictures of that joyous time.

More to come

2008-11-10T01:06:00.003-05:00

I just wanted to put all of you at ease by saying there are some pictures and fun to come. So stay tuned in. Get ready to be a little grossed out and enjoy the ride, because tomorrow (really today... it is just to early to say today) you will most likely have some posts that leave you saying. "Are you serious. That is crazy and looks like it hurts."

V-Ball and Bowling

2008-11-08T00:52:00.002-05:00

So tonight was an eventful night. It was filled with watching Kayle, my cute little nephew, going to see the KSU ladies volleyball team, and ending the night with some bowling.

Well watching my nephew was great because he slept an hour longer then he was supposed to which was fantastic because once he woke up, my sister was pretty much done with the conference call she was on and Conrad, my brother-in-law was back about 15 minutes after he had woken up. And really, the only reason why he woke up was because April turned off the fan outside his room. But i got a few pictures of him, which i will load up tomorrow... or something like that.

Then i skidadled over to KSU to see the ladies play some volleyball. I mean the main reason was to meet one of my good friends best friends, but it just didnt work out. KSU lost to Jacksonville but it was still fun to watch. The score was close at times which made it very exciting. Also, i didn't really understand that one girl on each team was wearing a jersey that was opposite the rest of the girls, my guess is to signify the captain.

Well after that i went home, got some stuff and then went bowling with a few others: Cory, Blakely, Luke, JL, Scott (and then me) - (the way the list is, is how we bowled tonight). We had a team goal to get 800 combined score and it took us three times, but man, on the third try we blew that score out of the water by getting over 900. It was pretty unstinkinbelievable! Well that was my night. Thanks for listening. Tune in tomorrow to hear a little about climbing.

Girls Girls Girls

2008-11-07T14:29:00.004-05:00

I think the title of this post is kinda a big foreshadow of what this post is about.

To be honest, girls have always been so interesting and have held a idol like place within my life. I understand that nothing is supposed to come before God and i believe that i am keeping him first. I believe that i have laid these idols at his feet and walked away and not looked back in hopes of something more between me and that "idol."

My mindset of dating is a little different then most guys and i honestly guard myself now from going to future focused or delving right into this mindset of dating when it comes to girls.

I know most of this post will be jumbled up thoughts but hopefully it will all come together to paint somewhat of a consistent and descriptive picture of where i am at.

Last night at Echo my mind was so distracted, plus i was really tired so i didn't take away too much from last nights lesson, which is a shame. But anyways my mind was distracted by the days events and just some friendships that are starting up, one with a girl more specifically. I just want to get to know her but it is so conflicting with other interests of encouraging and pursuing others. I am lost and have no idea what is right or what to do. But as i was thinking about everything and just praying to God, this idea of trusting him came into my mind.

See ever since i started dating in college my mind has been consumed with this pursuit of a girl. It hasn't always been the same girl, just a girl in general. My actions, mind and everything reflects this pursuit and at times i have let that girl slip into a place where she should not be... above God.

Throughout this pursuit, I have had some great conversations with some amazing and knowledgeable people which have helped shape me into the person i am today when it comes to relationships. I can still see some of my old self shining through and i can still see myself becoming a man consumed fully by God as he directs me in life and as he allows me pursuits, especially pursuits of THAT girl.

All of that to say this, last night God spoke to me saying... "give all of your worries, all of your pursuits, all of these girl situations and thoughts to me. Give them up. Trust me." And i found myself having a struggle doing that. I found myself not willing to let go fully. I found myself thinking, well what if relationships are ruined, what if we never start dating, what will she think. God i still want to encourage them, I still want to hang out with them. And to be honest, even now my mind and my everything is having so much trouble letting go, but i know i need to. I need to fully let go of all of that to him.

I dont know what is going to happen, i don't know what is next. All i know is that as hard as it is going to be, i am going to trust in God. I don't know what my actions will be or anything, i just know that i need to give all of this up. So pray for me, and if i can pray for you, let me know. Because right now i have no idea about a lot of stuff, but i do know that i desire to be in a community that lifts each other up.

Myself and I

2008-11-07T14:19:00.005-05:00

This is the continuation of Me, the blog post. And so let me start this all off, i am incredibly selfish. I think about me all the time. Everything within my small little world revolves around me and i am starting to see that now, and to be honest, it is crap. I hate this view that i have. I honestly want to be selfless. I want to be a person who gives up everything. I want to be someone who builds community, sacrifices, serves and loves others, but right now that is not the picture that i am getting of myself.

I hate being selfish, it is over rated and is against everything that i am about... which is LOVE.

1 Corinthians 13: 5 "Love does not demand its own way." (NLT)

That verse is so amazing and speaks so loudly to me. I think of that verse and how much i fall short of actually accomplishing that verse. I think about how much i fail to live by it. I mean i am selfish with my family, friends, relationship with God, and even in my pursuit of that one special woman. Everything seemingly has to be close to me or based on my schedule or for my benefit. I mean in thinking about this idea of selfishness i know i am getting better about it as God is breaking me, but as a whole, i know God is still restoring me in to a man who sacrifices and gives his all with love. God is restoring me into something amazing, i just don't know and can't see the finished product yet.

I want to be broken so badly of this idea of being selfish. Of, if i can't do something right away or it doesn't fully concern me, it will be done on my time and when i feel like it. Because of that type of mindset, i forgot to drop off my mom's lunch at school and i failed to register my friend for a class in time.

My life is all about me... and i want to be broken of that.

Me

2008-11-05T16:39:00.002-05:00

I am really really selfish! I just wanted you all to know that. I am really really selfish. Sure i do selfless things from time to time. In fact, right now i have just agreed to speak at an FCA here around Marietta. The high school is Walton. I'm have to be there at 7 A.M.!!! on a day i could sleep in. I know that is me giving up my time but still, in the grand scheme of things i am just soo stinkin selfish.

And it is eating me alive. More will come on this later but... i feel so selfish.

Scoop of disappointment :(

2008-11-04T20:57:00.005-05:00

Well i went out to dinner with my muder and me bruder, after me and my broham did some convincing to get her to come along.

At first we went to the Peachtree Diner and mom was excited because i mean... who isn't excited about a diner. Diners, Drive-ins and Dives with Guy Fieri for peets sake. Umm so at first glance i saw it looked real fancy and then i remembered that i had seen the menu online and they had conveniently forgotten the prices, and now i can see why. IT WAS PRICY! Ok, so we totally dipped out after our waiter put down napkins and we said we would wait for my mom to get back before we would get drinks. I mean when she got back, she looked at the menu and agreed and we left, out the side door of course and walked right across the street to Olive Garden.

Now the Olive Garden on the other hand was off the chain tasty and italian. We had a great server who graduated from my high school in 02, a little before my time, but hey, what a grand place to graduate from.

Well after we had our tasty food, which i have stored in my refrigerator with name on box for lunch tomorrow, Boo yah! we headed further down towards Alpharetta so we could get a free scoop of Ben and Jerry's ice cream. Thanks election day! :) Sadly, after my mom may have whined about it taking a little bit to get there, haha, we saw the line was forever long so we just skipped out on it. And then we decided to not get a free donut from Krispy Kreme because it would be just one donut and out of the way, oh and did i forget to mention we just didn't get our free Starbucks either?

Yes, all of these free items because we Americans use our right to vote, and yet none. I mean in the end we went to Wally-World and mom, ohh my lovely mother, bought all of ice some Ben and Jerry's pints. But still, i am just a little, teensy disappointed in our lack of getting freeness.

(Ummm so this little blip right here will be replaced with two pictures, but for now... read and enjoy, and then re-read again and again.) Thanks

VOTED!

2008-11-04T17:55:00.005-05:00

Yes, that is right... i voted for the first time ever in a Presidential race. I feel pretty excited.

Just so you know, i voted for John McCain.

Also i would just like to add a few more thoughts

1. Even though i don't want him to win, i legitimitly think Barack Obama is going to win.

2. No matter the turn out of this "huge and monumental" event, this isn't new news to God. It isn't like he is reading this book called life and saying, "man i shouldn't have gotten lazy and skipped this chapter. Hmmmm what am i to do to fix this."

And with that last thought, i feel that some people like los have a great mindset, pray for both candidates that God will bless them with wisdom and help guide them in future decisions. I know this is a scary time for some and even me, but God will handle this all... i am just going to choose to follow God no matter what.

Daniel 2: 21 "He controls the course of world events; he removes kings and sets up other kings. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the scholars." (NLT)

Truth

2008-11-01T23:42:00.008-04:00

Thesaurus.com, the kindred brother of Dictionary.com gives some pretty interesting synonyms for the word truth. So let me give you a big old copy and paste of what it says.

Main Entry: truth
Part of Speech: noun
Definition: honesty, loyalty
Synonyms: authenticity, candor, constancy, dedication, devotion, dutifulness, faith, faithfulness, fidelity, frankness, integrity, openness, realism, revelation, sincerity, uprightness, veridicality, verity

As i was reading 1 Corinthians 13: 6 a thought popped into my head. So before we delve into this thought, lets look at that verse. "It is never glad about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out." (NLT)

I think this verse is so meaning and versatile, especially when you apply it to your life. The thought that popped up into my head was what does the word truth really mean, especially in the context of this verse. When you look at this verse ad apply it to your life it means something amazing.

This verse is right smack dab in the middle of some verses that are describing the definition of love, the kinda love that God has for us. The 2 verses before and the 1 after describe God's love for us in all situations. So in thinking like that, about God loving us in all situations i thought about the times that i mess up and sin. I think about the times when i worry, when i do something that i probably should have put more thought into, when i give up and am broken and God loves me in all those situations. The biggest situation to me that jumps out the most is ones revolving around when i mess up and sin.

At the beginning it says Love, aka God, is never Glad at injustice, injustice being sin, but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Kinda seems simple, TRUTH is not sinning, but that phrase not sinning just didn't seem to be the whole kit and caboodle for me so i looked in a little further to this verse. I focused on the word truth and as you see from the top it has many synonyms such as dedication, devotion, integrity, and sincerity.

I find it amazing that truth is integrity, sincerity, dedication and devotion. All words that are so powerful and so descriptive of love, action, and emotion that is so crucial and so life altering. God rejoices in the times when we are sincere, when we are dedicated and stick to his word with integrity, and also when we show devotion to him. This verse just jumps out at me when i think about it. When i realize that in my sin he isn't glad that i stumble into it, but when i beat those temptations, when i respond in dedication and sincerity, my god rejoices uncontrollably.

I just feel my life has been altered as God has continued to open my eyes to his wisdom and his scripture. I feel by diving into this verse it has opened my eyes even further into the love my god has for me.

Remember that God loves you and is so excited and so encouraging as we pick whichever option is the truth.

How He Loves

2008-10-29T13:41:00.004-04:00

I wish I and everyone else could understand the truth of these lyrics:

He is jealous for me
Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree
Bending beneath the weight
Of His wind and mercy
All of a sudden I am unaware of
These afflictions eclipsed by glory
And I realize just how beautiful You are
And how great Your affections are for me

Oh, how He loves us so
Oh, how He loves us
How He loves us so

Yeah He loves us
Oh how He loves us
Oh how He loves us
Oh how He loves

We are His portion and He is our prize
Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes
If His grace is an ocean we’re all sinking
And heaven meets earth like a sloppy wet kiss
And my heart turns violently inside of my chest
I don’t have time to maintain these regrets
When I think about the way

That He loves us
Oh how He loves us
Oh how He loves us
Oh how He loves

Yeah He loves us
Oh how He loves us
Oh how He loves us
Oh how He loves

Eddie Kirkland - How He Loves

I find that these lyrics and the beauty of God's love is made most evident and clear to me in the times that i am most undeserving of God's unending love. I find it amazing that in the worst of times i can find myself consumed and surrounded by his grace and love. As my back is turned to God... he is always turned towards me whispering, shouting, speaking, showing, his love for me. I wish with everything in me that i could fully grasp his love for me so that could reciprocate it in full not only towards him but towards those around me. I wish with everything in me that my grasp of his love would penetrate my very being, everything i do so that i can live all out for him.

Somehow find a version of this song, and just let the words play over you and dwell on his perfect and unending love for you. I have a feeling more posts about his love will be coming soon. Just for the 411. :)

Oh...

2008-10-29T01:24:00.001-04:00

I wish i could fully grasp and understand just how much he does, because i would reciprocate it in full.

Learning in Alaska

2008-10-28T18:18:00.002-04:00

Never let the truth get in the way of a good story.

-Scott Kirby

(haha, he says he heard it from his brother or something)

Mixed Madness

2008-10-28T18:17:00.001-04:00

The world is your oyster,

so make lemonade.

-Paul Stippich

First of 2 (well not really)

2008-10-28T18:16:00.001-04:00

I just want to put some of my favorite quotes up here... but i want to do it in the most lengthy way possible, so i am going to make separate posts for each quote... you know to give each one the honor and respect they deserve.

N-C-Squared

2008-10-27T13:27:00.003-04:00

I love this Kid!!! It was so great seeing him not only in a leadership role this weekend, but it was a blast seeing him after he has been gone for way to stinkin long.

I love you Nathan Cornelius Cook!

Eastside's D-Now Weekend

2008-10-27T12:57:00.006-04:00

So in case you missed the last post, just started reading the blog, or just plain forgot... This past weekend was Eastside Baptist Church's D-Now. It was amazing seeing over 150 kids come to the weekend and rock it out. The theme was Becoming (becoming more like Christ, him transforming you and breaking you of your old ways into something he is longing for you to become)

So the weekend started off at the host homes for the middle schoolers and some of the high schoolers who didn't show up to their Friday night football game. There was five inflatables, a hotdog eating contest, probably the best brownies in the world and much more. It was just a time for kids to invite their friends to something fun and to also just have one amazing kick off.

Saturday night was the night where we had a service. It had music and speaking and everything. haha.

Well for me, i had 18 guys the entire weekend, luckily i shared the responsibility with another pretty amazing guy named Nathan Evans. The first hour and a half that we had the kids, they went crazy but after that they pretty much settled down to a nice rowdiness for the whole weekend. :) Well Nathan and i split the teaching times and even though the kids were pretty respectful and pretty interactive for being 7th and 8th graders there was still plenty of time of trying to focus and quiet them down, which was perfectly fine.

The whole weekend was about getting these kids to realize God's desire to break them of their flesh, of their sin, of things that God hates; to become something that he desires for them so greatly to become. At the end of the weekend we gave them cardboard to write on one said the phrase " I was..." (Fill in the blank) and on the other side "I am becoming..." (Fill in the blank).

The example that i gave them, i have actually wrote about in a blog before, was this "I was: Lust, Greed, Hate. I am becoming: Love, Sacrifice, Community."

So as we got the kids to write on the cardboard we played the song How He Loves.

The whole purpose of this cardboard thing was to give the church a real life example of what happened on this weekend and to see the theme be played out in real life.

I hope and pray that these kids, all 18 who i, by God's grace alone, memorized their names, understand how much God loves them and that he desires so greatly to break them of themselves and of the world to transform them into something so beautiful and something that is 100% HIM. I hope these kids, if not now, will look back at some point in their life at this weekend and realize that they are becoming something great, or at least have the opportunity to.

Also, i will end with this. It was so beautiful to see what some of the students wrote on their boards, and it was encouraging and exciting to see some of the decisions that were made by them to follow after Christ and be Baptized. I mean one of my guys decided TO GET BAPTIZED!!! HOW BEAUTIFUL AND EXCITING IS THAT? I am pumped to hear and see what God will continue to do.

Here are some pictures from the weekend. (Sunday Morning)

Grant Von Bromley (the trusty cameraman - he is going to be big someday... not size wise, like career wise)

TD!!! You stud you

Aerial View

Some of MY BOYZ!

Great Reminder

2008-10-27T12:09:00.003-04:00

Well this past weekend was Eastside Baptist Church's Disciple Now weekend. It was an amazing time as over 150 kids showed up for an amazing purpose of learning more about what it means to become. The weekend was called Becoming and it looked mainly at Paul's life and his transformation from Saul to Paul and what his life became.

I will write more on the weekend specifically later, you know, like within the next blog post.

Any who, as i was preparing for all of these lessons and going through the scriptures and main points something hit me pretty big. As i was going through these four lessons i noticed that i had just taught the first session a few weeks ago to a youth group. As i went through the second session i realized that i had just learned about this a few days before from a College Bible study i go to, and as i hit the third lesson i realized that i had been studying and reading about this sessions theme for months. And hearing and learning about the fourth lesson, i could see it in my own life as i struggled to live it out, as i struggled with Christ to live consumed with him and living as he desires me to live.

In looking in these lessons it was a pretty amazing reminder that i am becoming something new. That on this journey with Christ he is rocking my world and changing me to be more like him. He is breaking my heart for what breaks his. And today as i read a friends blog, (click on the word blog), i am reminded of the next few steps that would be pretty clutch to take.

God is pretty amazing in what he uses to build you and change you. I am glad there are constant reminders of his glory all around. Have you seen any yet?

MUCKFEST 08

2008-10-26T18:38:00.007-04:00

So there is this little thing called Muckfest at Sublime for Middle Schoolers. (Sublime being the name of the youth group of North Metro Church) It is the Largest Food Fight in Georgia... at least for that day. :)

Let me explain the crazyness of what is supposed to go down. The goal of the entire night is to get the opposing grades "queens" (can be guy or girl, doesn't matter) as dirty as possible. To do this said dirtying there are five rounds.

Round 1 Tomato Paste
Round 2 Bushes Baked Beans (YUMMY)
Round 3 Apple Sauce
Round 4 Log House Maple Syrup
Round 5 Flour

After these five incredibly fun and messy and edible rounds the queens come up to the "front" and the kids judge the messiness of their work by yelling and cheering for who they think wins the night. ( What a great system of judging i think, simple and sweet) Well any who, the grade that wins is the 6TH GRADE!!! :)

Why am i so excited, one because as a ref of the night i got to "keep things under control" and get kids messy and get a little messy myself at the same time, but more importantly is because i lead a small group of 6th grade guys. So yah!!! Woot Woot on the win my friends. :)

And here are some pictures to capture the beauty of the night.

After picture of the craziness

Losing Queen number 1

Losing Queen number 2

And the 6th grade queen who dominated and WON!!!

These are me and some of my boys with their friends.

Start of a break

2008-10-22T01:34:00.003-04:00

There are certain things my heart breaks for... one of those is individuals that are not typical and who have special needs. You may be asking why share this or why start a blog off like this... well i feel it very pertinent right now to share what things my heart is breaking for. To be honest, i am learning what it breaks for at this moment.

This Summer i was in Alaska and it was honestly the first time my heart broke for a certain people. I have been to places such as Moldova, Canada, other places in the U.S., heard about kids in Africa, but Alaskans are the first people i truly believe my heart has broken for.

All this to say i see God moving in some amazing and... heart breaking ways. Tonight i was reminded of who my heart is breaking for by watching Behind the Mask, a movie based on a true story staring Donald Sutherland and Matthew Fox. It is about Sutherland's character coming back to his true love of helping others discovering their self worth and Fox's character being an individual with special needs and who is seeking out respect and his father.

God is breaking me in more ways then one... is he breaking you?

YAY FOR UNKNOWN FUTURE!

2008-10-21T12:38:00.004-04:00

I JUST COMPLETED MY HUNDREDTH BLOG POST!!! I AM STINKIN PUMPED AND EXCITED! :)

WOOT WOOT! I AM SO THANKFUL FOR ALL THE STORIES.

Well have you been here the whole time, part of the time, a second of the time... let me know, and continue to add your stories via responding to things. We all need to connect and become a community in him and in love. :)

YAY 100TH POST!!!

Unknown Future

2008-10-21T12:10:00.004-04:00

Well... i have no idea what my future is. I know that is perfectly fine. I really wouldn't like to know the end, to be honest i am not the biggest fan of spoilers. I like the initial surprise, but i do like knowing things. I like the feeling that i know fo sho that i am doing the right thing and headed the right way, but that is not the season of life i am in right now... and like i said in the beginning that is perfectly fine.

Well recently, for a long recently, i have been reading the Bible all the way through and now i am in Psalm, and yes, there are quite a few of them. :) I just read Psalm 37 and the verses 4-7a really stood out to me. In this period of life i am in a time of patience and have no idea what is next. I hate it, i want to know what to do, but instead i am in a period of waiting of not knowing. I am in a great period of growth, rebuilding and encouragement. I am in a period of serving and giving all i have. I am in a period that is trying to be all i can because everything is spiritual. I am in a period where... i am lost but Jesus knows the way, and as i rest in him it is all ok. Even though i don't everything that i should do... i know that he is beautiful and in charge.

Psalm 37: 4-7a "Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will act. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday. Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him;"

In reading these verses it hits me that as i follow God... i am his will. As i delight myself in his ways, as i pursue him, he will guide me. One thing that i realize mostly is as it says commit your way to the Lord, trust in him, HE WILL ACT. That is so beautiful to me. Knowing that as i seek my savior he will act in my behalf. As i am pursuing him he will guide me and that i am not alone. To go further it says that he will bring forth my righteousness. We know that this means he will bring forth my faith, my trust in him because we are declared righteous by our faith in Christ. (Genesis 15: 6) So as he brings forth my faith and trust he will grow me in those areas and help me live by more strongly by them.

I think the hardest part though is the last sentence... "Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him." To be honest... i dont want to wait. I don't want to sit in silence. I want to pray and speak the whole time, i want to rush through life. But as i go throughout this thing called a relationship with Christ, things are made so much sweeter and more beautiful as God brings things to color as i wait on him. As i slow down and listen and just sit, God really does come through in some amazing ways. All in all i am not the most patient person, but i know that God does some amazing things in the time of my waiting for him.

All of this to say, i think there is still some more hidden meaning in these verses for me. I think this verse Proverbs 19:21 - "Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails." coupled with Psalm 37:4-7a makes a powerful cocktail of love and and Gods splendor. To realize that God is doing some amazing things and as i wait on him and delight myself in him I AM HIS WILL. As i sit in the silence, as i sit in beauty his plans will prevail over mine, and THANK YOU GOD FOR THAT! :) But in this in between and time of wait, i hope to start each day as if it were on purpose. I hope to patiently wait as God opens my ears and eyes to the joys and struggles around me. I hope to patiently wait for strength, wisdom, and guidance for what is next in life with school, relationships, job, family... everything.

Patience: in that time the LORD's purpose will prevail because he is there with me, always by my side through everything, no matter if i don't feel him or feel things going great.

Humbled worshiper

2008-10-20T12:48:00.003-04:00

God is amazing! Great way to start off a blog, i know. He has blessed me with so many opportunities and places and people to serve and serve along side of. I think back to my past and all the amazing opportunities and can't imagine how i have been so privileged. I love it. I love God.

Even though right now is a time of learning and patience for me, he is still allowing me some amazing opportunities to serve him. I have been privileged over the past month and a half to help lead worship a few times at North Metro Church in the theater. It has been an amazing time and God has used it to build trust, humbleness, and confidence in me and who i am. I honestly at times doubt myself and the skills he has blessed me with but through words of affirmation he shows me his love and reminds me of the talent he has blessed me with. I count it an honor each Sunday i get to play, no matter how short or long it may last.

Tat's + BBQ = PC&E 25th anniversary

2008-10-20T12:37:00.003-04:00

So my brother works for this company called PC&E and they rent out equipment for people to shoot things like commercials, videos and all sorts of other things. My brother helps set up and prep the stages for the people who are coming to the warehouse. Well this past Saturday PC&E had its annual party to celebrate its existence and to say thanks to all its clients.

I didn't see or notice any famous people there but it was still a blast. One of the coolest things about this event was that the employees could invite their family and i guess close friends, so my entire family went and it was a blast. There was cotton candy as soft and as big as clouds. Popcorn that rivaled the theaters and best of all, little tattoo's that you could put on, so i put on a decorative one that had a heart and the word mom over the heart... I know the greatest son in the world.

There was also these huge inflatables, one was a spongebob jumping one and the other was a great big slide. I was the uncle climbing up the slide with nieces and nephews sliding down with them. In fact, it was a really steep climb and so Kayle, my sisters little boy, loves these things but had trouble climbing them himself so as i trekked up this 25 foot steep hill i had him in one hand as i was helping pull myself up with the other, and when we summated the top i put him in my lap and we slid down... all for some pictures which my parents and other siblings have.

So then it came time to eat and they had Williamson's Brothers there but they also had some other people there who do BBQ and stew's for competitions and they were out of this world good. The stew was incredible and what made it better was the ribs that complimented it. The ribs were finger-licking good as they feel off the bones. MMMMM MMMM. So this night was a ton of fun and i enjoyed the time hanging out with my family.

So when was the last time you were able to hang out with your family. Please share your story, i know i would love to hear about it.

Mountains of fun

2008-10-18T14:04:00.006-04:00

So Thursday i was privileged with getting to hang out with one of my favorite friends, Shannon White. (You should probably check out her blog) Any ways, to start this whole shindig off i would just like to say i hate traffic. Well now that i got that out of the way, lets move on.

Shannon and i met up at the QT off of Bells Ferry Rd. and so our adventure began, a little later then expected but it is because of traffic, which is dumb. So as this adventure began i had planned it as a surprise kinda hang out deal. I just told her what kinda clothes to wear and that was it. So when we met at the QT she asked what we were doing and i told her the location and we headed off.

We went to Kennesaw Mountain to look at some amazing views and get a little eat on but when we got there it was 30 minutes before the mountain trail closed so we had to change plans a little. So we got to the top and checked out the first amazing view, but the smog and darkness of the night kinda hid some of the views like Stone Mountain. But we got to see the ATL, what we thought was Buckhead, and Marietta among other places. Well after we spent a little time there we went on a little walk, which is up hill and so a little strenuous for me, but she handled it like a pro. Any who we got to the top and went to another look out and saw more of God's beautiful creation. I mean he is amazing and pretty good at this creation stuff.

Well we stayed at that last look out for a few minutes and then remembered we had to be down the hill by 7:30 so we walked back to the car and made it down with a minute to spare. Yes, good timing, i know. Well the rest of the night we just drove around and talked about a ton of different things and it was just a great time to catch up and see where we were both at in life. Well as we got back to the QT we said our goodbyes and went home. Well she went home and i went to Echo. So all in all it was a great night of adventure in fun.

Alaska to Tennessee to Georgia

2008-10-18T13:37:00.006-04:00

Well while i was in Alaska i met this amazing team from Tennessee. While i was there one of my prayers was that i would be able to bond and connect with a team in a huge way and God answered that prayer fully. When the team got back from the the village that they had such a huge impact in we took them on a sight seeing trip and that is where i got to know them real well. It was such an amazing time of bonding and just having a ton of fun. I mean i talked about this team before in another blog entry in June called, What? Another late night pick up? Well any who, i was able to trade information and cell phone numbers and i have been able to keep in contact with this team through Trey, he's a pretty cool guy.

And so two people from the team, Trey, and his brother-in-law Chris came down to a conference at First Baptist Woodstock and i met up with them for dinner. It was an incredible time of hanging out and sharing stories. A lot of good laughs and just an all around good time. I loved every second of it and hope to be able to go up to Tennessee some time to visit them in their place of living.

Well here are a couple of pictures from the night.

(Uh Oh where is Trey... behind my face is where he is.

Chris is in blue and Chris's wife Tina is behind him and

there friend Amy is behind Trey)

(Oh There is Trey, up close and personal)

(And this is all of us)

And the lesson we have learned from the first and last pictures is this... Chili's employees need to work on photo taking. I mean they are great and nice people, but a lack a little in the photo taking department.

He does actually answer prayers

2008-10-15T22:51:00.004-04:00

So I went to Kennesaw Mountain today to do a little scouting and check out the old stompin grounds from the war days and i went back to this one little ledge hidden away on the right trail and just sat there for about thirty minutes and communed with God. Had a little chat, a little one way deal, me talkin to him, for a little bit and then i just listened to God.

I have been recently distracted by something that is just so tiring. Patience sucks but it is well worth it, just hard to stay strong with little affirmation. And so i was just praying to God and listening to him. But one main thing i prayed for was in relation to the complacency of my life. I prayed that he would once again open my eyes and ears to the joys and struggles around me.

So anyway, i left that glorious view and walked back to my car... in the rainbows my brother bought me, BOO YAH! and i saw these two guys next to the lookout place i was going to and they mentioned Atlanta and were pointing towards the wrong city... So i helped guide them, kinda like Alaska and talked to them briefly but one gentleman said he has been here five years and each time he tried to come to the top of the mountain the road to it was closed for hikers, until today. So i told them of the great look out i had just come from, and they joked and said "Are you like a guide or something, i mean we could pay you, we have a few dollars." We laughed, but i had to go so i said my goodbye and left. I give myself a seven on the dismount, i feel i could have handled it better.

But all this to say that he answers prayers. I had just prayed that my eyes and ears would be open up to the joys (Getting to the top of the mountain and going on a little hike) and struggles (being here five years and never making it to the top) of those around me. I love God.

Collaboration of the Weekend

2008-10-12T21:54:00.005-04:00

Well i dont know if you know this... but i love, love, LOVE the weekends. It is a time of relaxing and just being at ease... it is wonderfully beautiful. I mean it isn't like i am telling most of you anything new, i just wanted to throw this little opener in here.

Well my Friday night was a blast, started out with no plans, then i got a few and decided on the one where i could help my friend with the houseboat. He got this houseboat two years ago i think and we have been fixing up little things here and there ever since. The inside is 95% done and looks great, the outside on the other hand, not so much. So let me tell you a story.

One of my friends commented on our buddies houseboat saying, "I really want to have a Halloween party and have it on the houseboat, i mean it isn't like we would have to change the outside because it is all ready scary enough." So our friend, Scott Thom took that to heart. I mean the outside of the boat isn't that bad but it could be spruced up so for the past week or so we have been fixing it up. We painted the outside, did the trim around the windows and just about finished putting down the carpet tonight. All of these projects have spanned a few weeks obviously but it is coming together swimmingly well.

Well Saturday as we woke up from our work night on the houseboat, my friend Luke and i met my brother at Dick's Sporting Good's and after not finding a pair of rainbows that fit, we went to look for a shirt for my brother. (haha) :) So we went into Surftown and i saw the pair of rainbows that i thought would fit, and guess what, because of my fat feet, they didn't come close. So we went back over to Dick's and got the first pair of rainbows that i thought could have been a little too big. I love my brother for this belated birthday present. So i eventually went home and rocked it out watching the movie Children of Men. It was ok, nothing to write home about though, i mean if i didn't have this blog, i really wouldn't have mentioned it.

But Sunday... ewwww today was a blessing. I was given the honor of playing hand percussion for North Metro for the main service upstairs in their theater. It is a smaller and more personal venue. But God rocked this morning. Honestly every time i play i am constantly praying to just stop worrying about playing wrong things, or messing up, or to focus on worship not impressing others. I mean God has blessed me greatly with this talent, and i am humbled by it. I just get sooo nervous but God has comforted me with words of affirmation which i hold sooo soo dear, (They are one of my love languages). Well that is all for now, I know Sunday was rushed but besides chicken and alfredo with the Thoms for lunch and then chicken and cheese quesadillas for dinner. I am just resting peacefully, on my deck relaxing in this amazing windy and cloudy night that God has so beautifully and wonderfully made, waiting to watching Pushing Daisies with my Moo Moo. Love that show.

Giving it ALL

2008-10-10T01:47:00.004-04:00

Last night, there was this thing called Echo at North Metro. (Kinda rhymed) It is a college and 20's Bible Study on Thursday night. The series is called NUMB3RS and it is on money and finances, your own that is. Trust me on on this next group of words... it is interesting, well worth it and a humbling blessing.

We were posed with a question, can you give God everything? I mean after all everything is spiritual, everything is his. What are you doing with that other 90%. What are you doing about debt. Are you willing to give God your debt's, your loans?

As i left Echo tonight I prayed. I basically said "God i find it so easy, and i find that i actually have given up family, friends, my life in some ways, but i haven't really given up money." And as i thought about that, it dawned on me that i really hadn't actually given up anything. Without giving up everything, i don't believe i had given up anything. I mean sure at times i have sacrificed family, friends, and finances for him, but all in all i haven't given up everything. I was left humbled and broken. I am not that much into debt, but i am in debt. I want to be out of it. I want to be out of it in break neck speed. I want to be free from slavery and bondage and in Gods authority.

I want to literally give everything to God. I want to give my finances, family, friends, life, everything to him. Yes... i am a Christ follower, but i haven't given up everything. It is just... i don't know. All i do know is that i desperately desire to give God my money and debts, i mean after all, everything is spiritual... right?

Lets get real.

2008-10-08T16:53:00.017-04:00

Today, tonight, whatever you want to say, we are going to get real. I mean down to the nitty gritty real. My better judgement is telling me to sensor my thoughts, considering this is going to the masses... and so because of that i am, but i will write this blog fully, then erase the parts that may be a little too graphic for all. I mean if you want the full story, then please shoot me an email or respond in some way and i can send you the full unedited truth. But realize this, don't read on if the truth scares you.

In this thing called taking back OUR story i am real... very real and upfront. I just feel God gives us a sensor and at times we need to use it, out of respect for others. So please don't take this intro as something that is against this blog and being upfront. I want to tell the truth always and be strait-forward, but again the reason why i feel i can do some things doesn't mean others can or should do them as well. We are all different and individual and unique. Never lose the luster of that. So all that to say, ask and you shall receive. Now lets get real.

I guess this all starts back in Alaska. As i was in Alaska, i had some amazing times with God and just growing in him. One of my biggest fears was falling back into the complacency of where i was before i left. I mean i had three months of a great escape into a new adventure and it was a blessing and well worth it. But now... i am back in Georgia and it has only been two months and i have slipped right back into the traps and snares that got me before. I hate looking back on this little bit that i have been back and seeing the lust that i am seeking after and falling into. As i fall back into the things i hate i have no idea where this man God has been transforming me into has gone. I hate it because as my mind is taken to a dark land of lust, the way i look at people, women, and the thoughts that encompass them, they are sometimes the furthest thing from what God desires. These sins change the way i look at women and i despise it with everything in me. I quite literally sat on the couch the other day and thought about it, i thought about the fear that i have fallen into. I thought back to my greatest fear of coming back to my friends, house, and comfort zones and going back to a place where i don't want to continue to go.

You may be wondering where this is going... so let me tell you. It is going towards love.

Did you get that? This blog, this thought... its going towards love. YES, LOVE!!!

While i was in Alaska, God continued to transform me from a man of hate and lust and greed, among other things, and HE continues to restore me to a man of LOVE, sacrifice, and service. As God has continued to transform me, he has brought me to truths and showed me some amazing things. As i fell back into my life of lust God would teach me something in the most unlikely of times. As soon as my conscience caught up with me i would get this overwhelming feeling of Love from God. I thought back to the scriptures that I was reading, 1 Corinthians 13, more specifically 1 Corinthians 13: 5 " Love is not irritable, and it keeps no record of when it has been wronged." As i find myself in a place of brokenness, as i think i have failed and am worth nothing, God's love shines through all of that, and it is as if he whispers "Paul I still love you, I keep no record of any of this. I LOVE YOU." Also, i was reading this book called Soul Cravings by Erwin McManus and then i just stopped reading it for awhile, but i have just picked it back up and started reading the first chapter... if thats what you can call it even, where i had left off and some amazing truth was brought out and shown to me.

In the book Erwin mentioned God is an unconditional lover, who pursues us with everything no matter what. No matter how many times we reject him, he is still giving his unconditional love. He has love for us no matter what. His love is unconditional. I agree with Erwin when he mentions that we find God's love so unreal and can't fathom something that is unending no matter what. He gives the example of the woman caught in adultery in John 8: 1-11 and mentions how Jesus forgave her. He didn't hold her sins against her, he didn't shove them right in her face. He forgot the wrong and asked that she sin no more. He asked that she accept his unconditional love and live her life for him. It is such a beautiful picture of Gods unconditional love, this love i feel so often, even in my worst of times.

As I think about this love though, i desire to give that to others, i desire so much to love others unconditionally. I desire with everything in me to pursue God with everything and love him. But honestly i find myself pursuing people and relationships more fervently then God sometimes. Just as in Song of Songs where the woman searches high and low for her lover, i desire to search for God like that. I know he is looking for me like that, I also know that God is right there just waiting for me sometimes, but at times i choose the relationships i can see right in front of me. It makes me wonder, as i pursue one other, is that right, is God allowing me this, or is it just me. As i think about this, i remember that i may be pursuing this one girl, but more then that... my whole desire is to search and seek after God and as i do that i believe i am his will. So all in all i think worrying about the pursuit of another is sometimes a useless worry and distraction, but at other times i think you need to check yourself and where your priorities are. I mention all of this to ask a question of myself, but also to pose a question to you, how deep does your love for your heavenly father go. Does it go to Sundays and Wednesdays, to an occasional Bible study, or to a song or two, or is it with your whole life.

I know i personally find myself constantly making sure that i am pursuing him above all others and that i am seeking him. As i am on this journey, as God grows me, i find him restoring me into this man of love, sacrifice and service. I find him restoring me to passionately lay down everything for him. I find him restoring me and whispering his unconditional love for me... no matter what.

Jealousy... it is a bitter green monster. :)

2008-10-06T12:49:00.005-04:00

So I am pretty pumped about this post, it lets you know a little about my childhood... so enjoy. :)

Well last week we moved my sister into her new apartment, as some of you reading this blog will know. So while we, the kids of our family, helped April move, the grandkids stayed with the parents and played at our house. Well we finally got April moved in and we were all home and my nephew Vann was huffing and puffing and so my mom said she was going to help him by breaking out some new toys. I had know idea what she was referring to but was wondering what these "new" toys were.

Well my mom brings out this plastic crate full of memories. I looked inside the plastic... tub more then crate actually, and just reminisced for a few minutes. I kept on finding myself just drawn to touch and fool around with these toys. It was so cool to uncover some of these lost and forgotten toys. I mean so many of these hold some great memories. Most of them are from one of the greatest TV shows of all times, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and there are even some from Duck Tales... wait, not duck tales but another show with a duck and he was a super hero... if you think about it, let me know. Any who it was a blast! I mean it was sooo cool! My nieces had a hard time getting me away from those toys, i mean Vann and i just played for a long time with those toys.

Well enough talking about these toys, here are some pictures... try not to get jealous. :)

(Yep, you are looking pretty much all the original pieces of TMNT...

including the pizza shooting vehicle)

(This toy is amazing, called a dragon fly. They had a show.

But this toy is sitting on a dragon, you pull the dragon's tail

and it shoots the guy in the air and he FLYS DOWN!!!)

(MMMM good old TMNT movies, and yes, that is a raisin)

(The Box of Sweet Sweet Goodness and Memories)

Worrying Response

2008-10-04T17:04:00.003-04:00

This is a response to my friends Shannon's blog, i figured this was a better place to put large amounts of texts. So this is a response to Love-Hate Relationship.

I worry so much myself over things i can't control. I find myself failing to the same problems and sins over and over again, and as i slip further down that hill, i become more entrenched in the muck and grime and it is harder to clean off. Literally so hard to get rid of something that i think is coating me. Funny thing is though, i am clean because someone took my sins away. I know i am pure and looked at as such by my heavenly father no matter what and when i ask for forgiveness, but just because i can do something doesn't really mean i should... or should i.

Honestly that is a rhetorical question, i know it is truth that i shouldn't do something just because i can. It is interesting to me though that as i constantly read over 1 Corinthians 13: 1-13 God shows me his truth and light. How does this have to do with worry, because everything is spiritual and everything that i do in my life affects me and the way i think.

I have no suggestions for my friend Shannon on how to counteract these daily battles because i find myself struggling to trust God and to give over everything that i am about. I find myself lost within myself hoping that i will find an answer about relationships, about jobs, about school about life. I find myself not trusting and God and trying to grab on to things that don't matter and are not in my control. Honestly the only advice that i would have is to chase and run after God with everything that you have. As i have sought his face it has given me peace and joy. As i have treasured the literal word of my father he has brought me wisdom and discernment, but in all of that i still find myself worrying about the future, and all these little pieces of my life i try to fit into certain places instead of God helping me be whole. I find myself following my heart instead of God protecting it for me.

I know these thoughts are jumbled up together, but you know what, i am consumed with something that doesn't matter, that only hurts me... and that is worry. I wish i could offer something of a little more substance but i can't. I just trust in God and he continues to fill me up and lead me on this thing called life, and when i rest in his arms, joy... not worry consumes me.

Rest in him for he is by your side whenever you call.

Oh da Baby

2008-10-04T12:14:00.005-04:00

So October 2, 2008 at about 1:30 p.m. my mom calls me and tells me to get the camera ready for her because my sister went in for an appointment and said the baby was a comin out, so they induced her.

So i went to my classes since i had a project due in my last class and longingly waited to get to my intercultural communication class ( a first i might at) and present, turn in the paper, and dip out. So i finally got to my class presented and rocked it out.

So as i called my mom to rush to the hospital i found out i was about to head to the wrong one, and that my sister wasn't probably going to have the baby for a few more hours... oh and this is about 5:20 p.m. My sister never has babies that quickly. But anywho i feed the dogs, get some burgers... sad day McDonalds raised the double cheeseburger 19 cents. I mean fo real? So i got to the hospital and found out she was at 5 centimeters. A few hours later and a miracle happens, but no one comes out and tells us until about 20 to 30 minutes after.

But there was a little complication after the birth with April so they had to do some minor surgery and they sent up the new little baby up to the nursery. And here are the pictures.

(This is a clock outside the nursery we probably

arrived about ten minutes before i took this picture)

Yep that little ray of sunshine you cant see... thats her)

(And there)

(And that is as close as we got after waiting pretty

much an hour, slightly saddened... a lot saddened actually)

So this is a picture of a girl they placed right next

to the window, even though she is a little whiter then

RYLYNN ROSE (The name of my beautiful baby niece)

i wanted to get a picture close up of a baby.

So here is a picture of a random girl... YAY!!!

There in the Hurt

2008-09-29T22:49:00.003-04:00

I know I need You

I need to love You

I love to see You, but it's been so long

I long to feel You

I feel this need for You

And I need to hear You, is that so wrong?

Oh, oh. Oh, oh. Oh, oh.

Now You pull me near You

When we're close, I fear You

Still I'm afraid to tell You, all that I've done

Are You done forgiving?

Oh can You look past my pretending?

Lord, I'm so tired of defending, what I've become

What have I become?

Oh, oh. Oh, oh. Oh, oh.

I hear You say,

"My love is over. It's underneath.

It's inside. It's in between.

The times you doubt Me, when you can't feel.

The times that you question, 'Is this for real? '

The times you're broken.

The times that you mend.

The times that you hate Me, and the times that you bend.

Well, My love is over, it's underneath.

It's inside, it's in between.

These times you're healing, and when your heart breaks.

The times that you feel like you're falling from grace.

The times you're hurting.

The times that you heal.

The times you go hungry, and are tempted to steal.

The times of confusion, in chaos and pain.

I'm there in your sorrow, under the weight of your shame.

I'm there through your heartache.

I'm there in the storm.

My love I will keep you, by My pow'r alone.

I don't care where you fall, where you have been.

I'll never forsake you, My love never ends.

It never ends."

Oh, oh. Oh, oh. Oh, oh.

This song is so beautiful and such a great depiction of our heavenly father. Just listen. Just listen. Just listen...

(Tenth Avenue North - Times)

Sad Day

2008-09-28T19:49:00.003-04:00

Well it isn't that today is a really sad day... it is just that this weekend was a blast hanging with family. It has grown from 2 (my parents) to 11... well 10 1/2. One chitlen is still baking in the oven.

You still wondering why i am sad... it is because i am back to the school week, family is gone, they literally just left back to their home an hour away... i mean i loved seeing and hanging out with them because i never ever see them. It is something that really kinda sucks. Maybe if i prioritized my life a little different and gas wasn't something that is unheard of i would see them more often. Well lets not dwell on the shoulding, but lets give a little 411 (info) on this weekend.

So the move yesterday went amazing. It was one load from the old apartment to the new one. AMAZING!!! :) All in all a four hour or less experience. My sis and bro (Conrad... her husband) had a few people from church help clean up their apartment and a couple to help us move. It was amazing, quick, and... fun? My favorite part is that Conrad had said getting to their new apartment with all the stuff wouldn't be that hard, only one exit from where they were, but the best part was they were on the ground level... so five stairs to climb and five stairs to descend. Well when we get to the apartment, after passing lines of ridiculous traffic for gas, we saw that their was 8 stairs to ascend, we made it only 3 though, but there was about 25 stairs to descend. Nice surprise. :). But it was all good. Well we eventually went home and partied like it was 1999 and just celebrated the move, and i gave away my Alaska presents... just so stinkin glorious.

I had so much fun and then i was blessed to help lead worship for the theater of North Metro... they have two services, one in the main "sanctuary" and one upstairs. The upstairs one is more intimate i think. But it was awesome, God just continually breaks me and molds me. What an honor. I love worship, and i love ministry. I hope to be doing that later in life.

Well back to the sadness. I am just sad my family is gone. Went back to the apartment, played on the playground, came home, played some more... ate things... hmmmm. Just sad.

My mind is blank, i will go fill it with other things. Love you all. ;)

(Oh and as you see, no pictures of the move, but go check out my facebook profile picture, and i have two more post... one is expected and the other is just glorious, be prepared to be jealous)

Anticipation is killing

2008-09-26T21:36:00.003-04:00

Anyone like moving... anyone? I know i do when it involves people who don't have tons and tons of junk.

I bring this up because my Sister and her hubby, along with the bun in the oven and the oh so cutie batooie nephew of mine are moving to a new and slightly bigger apartment. I am not looking forward to moving a washer and drier and all of the heavy items, especially with my oh so good and non-hurting left leg. (Sarcasm anyone) But besides not looking forward to moving the big and heavy items, i am excited that my sis and her husband have boxed up everything and have been moving little loads by little loads to the other apartment for a little over a week now.

I am pretty pumped about all that. :)

So besides getting family and friends together to help move... i am soooo looking forward to spending time with the whole family together. I can not express the joy that i am having looking forward to hanging out with my nieces and nephews and with my brother and sister that lives over an hour away. I mean some guitar hero will be had, some good food grilled up, and some fun times to add to the memory banks.

Hopefully some pictures will be added, if i take any, and as you may have noticed, it just kinda slips my mind. I love pictures though, makes everything all pretty.

One last reason i am excited is because the family (dogs included) will be getting some presents. I was fortunate enough to get some real Alaskan souvenirs... YAY!!! and so this weekend is also a representation of my mission trip coming that much more to a close... all though there is still a few surprises left. Also, when i say my mission trip is coming to an end... i just mean this chapter of Alaska, i don't mean i am going to stop serving others and i don't mean by any means of the imagination that i wont go back. In fact i have been going to this great college / 20's/ ministry at North Metro called Echo. I am so excited that the college pastor Rob McDowell, listened and truly followed God with every way possible. We started this series called 52 days and talked about Nehemiah and the rebuilding of the wall around Jerusalem in 52 days. Long story short, asking God to crush our hearts for a BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal).

Last night, Thursday, God was crushing my heart for something. I don't know what. I know i have ideas and plans for what i want education wise, job wise, relationship wise, but honestly these ideas mean nothing. They are fun and i love dreaming, but i know as i pursue God, i am HIS WILL. I love that, as i pursue my heavenly father, i am his will. But last night God was breaking me to serve, where... no clue, God was breaking me to love, who... i couldn't give you a specific, but i know that He is breaking me to be a man of Love and Service. I know he is giving me a BHAG and i know he is leading me somewhere, and even though i dont know the ending location... and i am ok with that because i know that I am His will.

No clue about the future, just ideas and dreams, just... family and fun.

By Myself Alone

2008-09-25T17:04:00.006-04:00

Why are you striving these days

Why are you trying to earn grace

Why are you crying

Let me lift up your face

Just don't turn away

Why are you looking for love

Why are you still searching as if I'm not enough

To where will you go child

Tell me where will you run

To where will you run

And I'll be by your side

Wherever you fall

In the dead of night

Whenever you call

And please don't fight

These hands that are holding you

My hands are holding you

Look at these hands and my side

They swallowed the grave on that night

When I drank the world's sin

So I could carry you in

And give you life

I want to give you life

(Chorus 2x)

Cause I, I love you

I want you to know

That I, I love you

I'll never let you go

(Chorus 2x)

So if you were to look at these lyrics you would see the title is not necessarily fitting... or is it? The titles for these past few blogs has been more of a reflection of the state I am personally in and how these songs have met me, and how God has used these lyrics and these notes to speak love, joy, rest, peace, sacrifice into my life.

But i want you to focus on these two lines:

Why are you looking for love

Why are you still searching as if I'm not enough

How beautiful and reflective this is of my life as i am searching for love in so many different places. Searching for it from myself, from others such as family and friends. It is interesting that no matter the person, the activity, the joy and the love that it brings is so fleeting and means nothing compared to the Love that MY FATHER has for ME! :) There is freedom in letting go, i have experienced it and it is so... relieving. It is so relaxing to give God your relationships, especially ones that would involve pursuits. God is my number one and always will be. For as i pursue him, i hope and pray that he places the pieces of my life where they need to be.

But listen and fall in love with the savior. Listen to this beauty.

(Tenth Avenue North - By Your Side)

Wellspring

2008-09-24T12:51:00.003-04:00

Come to the waters, you who thirst and you'll thirst no more.

Come to the father, you who work and you'll work no more.

And all you who labor in vain and to the broken and shamed:

Love is here.

Love is now.

Love is pouring from

His hands, from his brows.

Love is near, it satisfies.

Streams of mercy flowing from his side.

Cuz love is here.

Come to the treasure, you who search and you'll search no more.

Come to the lover you who want and you'll want no more, no.

And all you who labor in vain and to the broken and shamed,

Yeah:

Love is here.

Love is now.

Love is pouring from his hands, from his brows.

Love is near, it satisfies.

Streams of mercy flowing from his side.

Yeah

And to the bruised and fallen,

Captives, bound, and broken hearted.

He is the lord

He is the lord,

Yeah

By his stripes he's paid our ransom

From his wounds we drink salvation

He is the lord

Love is here.

Love is now.

Love is pouring from his hands, from his brows.

Love is near,

It satisfies.

Streams of mercy flowing from his side.

Cuz love is here

Love is here.

I love these lyrics because it really tells how God is more then enough. He can meet us wherever we are, and i have seen Him meet little old me this week in some amazing ways. Mmmm i can't wait for later this week. Ewww so much more.

But this song is amazing and this is the beginning of three.

(Tenth Avenue North - Love Is Here)

Oh and watch this video, watch the people. I think the response of them is so unique ewww and there is this one guy, see if you spot him. Lets play a little Where's Waldo, and now you may be saying Paul who am i looking for... well think about who i am, and you will find him. Well peace out and enjoy.

(well i will be back to add the video, until then, click this link... link)

Broken

2008-09-22T23:25:00.003-04:00

I used to live my life in fear

Was worried all the time

From waking up to laying down

I had no peace of mind

The world became a darkened place

A struggle without end

Although bitter times those were

The days that I had began to understand

I was only a man

I grew up singing songs in church

With questions in my mind

Then turned my back and ran away

From God who gave me life

Then one night his presence fell

I wept and shook and then

I fell down and cried, Dear Jesus, rescue me again

I understand I am only a man

And He said, What will it be now?

Will you choose me or keep swimming up stream now?

I've been inside your head hearing you scream out.

Well here I am, just take my hand and I'll take out

All of the pain and all of the fear

All of the fear

I'll give you my burdens (I'll give you peace)

All of my desires (I'll give you what you need)

Oh, what about these chains, Lord? (I'll set you free)

But they're so heavy (Lay them at my feet)

I'll lay them at your feet

Just promise you won't leave (I'll never leave)

So where do I go from here, Lord? (Just follow me)

(Just follow me)

I'll follow you (Just follow me) wherever you lead

Wherever you lead, wherever you lead

So this last part you are looking about is Jonny in essence praying or talking to God and Him answering his questions or his prayers.

To me this is huge and beautiful and is very descriptive of where i am in life. I may add more but right now... just read and sulk in its beauty.

(Jonny Lang - Only a Man)

Week of music

2008-09-22T02:51:00.004-04:00

Well i am just going to give you a little heads up... this week and the posts that will be, well posted, will be songs that are really impactfull to me this week and this period of life that i am in right now.

God is bringing me to a new point in brokenness, and God is bringing me and my heart to a new point of understanding and preparedness for the future. So anyway you will see some songs being posted, and depending on the mood i am in you may have an explanation of why i posted these songs or you may see posted certain parts of the song that are unreal to me. But i was thinking about the posts that i could do, and to me, i was thinking i would love for these songs to do ministry for you as well, so in light of that mindset i may not interpret these songs for you, i may just let you read the lyrics and decide what they mean for you. I mean if you want to know what i am thinking, please just ask and i will gladly tell you.

Well hope you enjoy this week because you will have one or two special gust artists but right now i see one of those special guest artists... hahah a song for fun that is... one song from Mr. Jonny Lang, and three from an amazing band which you need to go to iTunes right now and download their album, and that band is Tenth Avenue North and their album Over and Underneath (plus you get a free video with it... yay. great video!)

Fun in the mornin

2008-09-19T01:02:00.006-04:00

Well usually on Friday mornings this thing called FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) happens and me and a couple of my friends lead worship for schools around where we live. We mostly do High Schools but on occasion we do Middle Schools. Also we have been known to do our own things at these FCA's and not travel as a group. But that is neither here nor there for this story.

Oh Kennesaw Mountain High School, what a glorious FCA. This whole situation is rather humorous. So last night, Thursday, i spent the night at old Rob Greene's house so i could save gas and sleep in a little extra longer before we would leave to go and worship. So we wake up, arrive pretty much right on time and we notice something a little different. Mind you i have a nice little pimp walk going on and i went down to just carrying my djimbe. Anywho, there is a small... very small toy like keyboard up front and so i had no idea what to think, i thought they were just going to give us some extra pizzaz or something, Rob thought it was for a skit.

So we get down to the front and the coach in charge of all this looks kinda shocked, and goes mentions the fact that they didn't know we were scheduled to play and that he actually had a student lined up. Boom... Crazy... So we all just kinda laugh it up and the coach mentions he will bring us back, but it is just funny that a student that goes there, who wasn't really supposed to be leading worship just kept on keeping on. Which is way ok, just kinda funny.

So now you are thinking maybe we just got our stuff all mixed up, mmm not so much. We have a friend who is a part of the leadership for that FCA, maybe even the president, not sure, any way he is the one who called us to play. So we walked out to the parking lot and did a little prank call to see if he knew what was going on. Rob called and sounded all sleepy like and said that we just woke up so we would be late, and this friend of ours was great, he believed it, he said they usually have a guy who brings his guitar and they would just let him do a song or two before everything got kicked off. So after we had him going for a few minutes we let him know what was up and he apologized but all that to say... way to start your morning. Andrew who had to drive 30 minutes, just drove to say good morning... what a good friend.

I think this is humorous, you have any funny Friday stories?

Oh It's coming

2008-09-19T01:02:00.004-04:00

I like outdoorsy activities like climbing kayaking, and other such things... you know, outdoorsy activities. I like to wrestle and play around with fighting and such and tonight... the start of something great was decided.

A friend and I are going to box, it is going to be good fun and gloves will be bought, wars will be fought, (not really) and it will be fun... hopefully for both parties.

Now don't think we are trying to cut up beef and grill it because we have no problems with each other, this is all in good fighting fun.

So all i have left to say is... get ready... for

FIGHT NIGHT 08!!!

Little Left Leg

2008-09-16T14:45:00.003-04:00

Well this past Sunday i got jacked up playing some flag football in Eastside Baptists Church's gym.

This statement won't come as news if you have been following me on twitter or i have talked to you about it, but man, it still hurts.

It is weird, my muscles seem constantly tight and it also feels as if my shin is about to crack in half down the whole bone. So now i walk around with a nice little pimp walk, kidding kidding, it is really kinda goofy.

I just thought you should know what i am feeling and going through right now, so throw up them prayers if you want, but i also just want to say that i don't think pain pills work. I still have yet to take one that actually did anything.

Well other then that i am doing pretty good, got the Shogun Runs, not really, but you know. Aside from that though, school is going pretty good, i am excited about it. Well off to a class, just had a little break, so peace out and A-Town Down.

Ignite Fall 08

2008-09-14T20:58:00.004-04:00

This was the best ignite for me so far. For those of you who are wondering what ignite is, it is a weekend of training the new leaders that we interviewed and accepted. What interviews, what are you accepting? Well great questions. I am a part of this ministry called S.W.A.T (Students With A Testimony) Ministry. Pretty sure i have mentioned them in a previous blog, but just for those who just started reading this blog or whatever... it is a ministry that travels around the South East doing weekend events for churches.

So without going into to much more detail now, we got to train our newest leaders, give them that T-Shirt they have been dreaming about for years and a handy little duffle bag... be jealous :)

But for serious, We go through the weekend just like we would a normal SWAT weekend, well a little different, we want to train them and answer any questions on how to lead. We also go over SWAT protocol and all that fun stuff.

But something that God has been growing in me is community and building relationships and so on the way down there i asked a few friends to pray for the weekend but i prayed myself that God would build relationships and just rock our world with some amazing connections. And God rocked my prayer out of the water. I feel this is the first time that i was at this weekend and really connected with all the new leaders. I knew all the guys names, and most of the girls, but God just rocked our world as a ministry. He allowed 32 people to come in and be a part of this amazing family and they are an amazing caliber of leader.

The first night we were there God just rocked our world and we (the guys) had a session and everyone just opened up and shared their story of where they were at the time and with those stories God ministered to each and everyone of us.

Then Jesse and I took rec to a whole new level never before reached. God allowed us some crazy creativity and we rocked it out. Both girl groups and the guy groups came to rec pumped up and excited and with a theme. We also had a spirit flag for them to win... and one step more, Jesse and I dressed up as the jokers, pictures to come later, after people post them on facebook) and it was scary, nasty, crazy amazing. God is truly amazing and as we continued the weekend we did Maneuvers which can be taken as a parable of life... amazing and very thought provoking and insightful.

Well as our day winded down we hung out at Jon's house, tailgated, watched the game and then went into an amazing time of worship and then one more session. Throughout this whole weekend it was amazing and unreal to see God bring so many different people together to fight for each other. How beautiful his love, how beautiful our new family.

Marvelous Monday

2008-09-12T12:54:00.003-04:00

Well Monday all started on Sunday... you know the little B & B. Baptism and a barbecue. Mikey and I, all clad in our swim wear were walking down to the lake to go swimming and Mrs. Thom said don't take the boat out for too long, we want to let the girls and others use it.

This comment completely caught us off guard because we have never been on the boat, by ourselves without a Thom present. So we looked shocked and responded that we were just going to go to the double decker. So as Mikey and I swam and jumped and played gleefully in the lake we discussed this incident of Mrs. Thom's comment, and so we got the bright idea of asking if we could use the boat Monday, you know... pay for some gas and go out on the lake and crush some ice (the term that wake-boarders use in referencing gong wake-boarding.)

So as Mr. and Mrs. Thom were in the same room i said "what if some responsible young gentleman wanted to use the boat tomorrow and put a little gas in it, would they be able to?" And long story short of this, they said yes. So the Monday adventure begins.

Not there there is really too much more to say.

But Mikey, Zach and I met at the Thom's house around 11:00 and rocked out some mad wake-boarding for an entire day of fun. Later Luke joined us for some amazing times. All the guys except me wake-skated and wake-boarded. It is a sad day, i still have yet to actually get up, but i love just being out on the lake, and the second round of trying for me was a great progress i think. I got up for one brief second and then was pulled forward. Still a little sad about not being able to wake board, but i am thrilled to just be out on the lake and see those guys crush some ice. Plus a momentous occasion of using the boat by ourselves happened.

So... what were you doing on Monday?

A little B and B

2008-09-10T15:14:00.007-04:00

No, not a little bed and breakfast, but a little Baptism and a Barbecue. well not really a barbecue, i mean we grilled out and had some chicken alfredo, but the word barbecue not only fits but sounds better. Plus it is a little something i first saw and experienced in Canada.

Well Connor Thom... Scott Thom's younger brother decided to get baptized, and since Connor and his parents now go to North Metro, i got to experience a little of that, and it was unreal. I loved every second of it. It was an entire service dedicated to Baptism's, there were 39 Baptisms that day split over two services.

One of the staff members came out on stage and he was basically the MC, haha, of the morning. It was good and not crazy, he really added to it by starting off and telling about Baptism and why it was done according to back in the day. People would come to the water, a river or lake, and the community apart of that persons life would gather around the individual and they would be baptized to represent them following their rabbi. I never knew that until this Sunday, i mean i knew why we baptized people but never knew it wasn't something created by Jesus or really for him. But i only heard and haven't checked up on it, but it makes complete sense. (click on the word heard and read Mac's blog on September 2, 2008 called He tells me I'm a believer...)

But as the Baptisms got rolling they showed a video that briefly explained how this individual got to this point and why that was going on, people from the congregation who had an impact or dealing or influence with this person being baptized would walk to the front and stand outside the baptismal tub. Also it didn't matter if you were a guy, or a girl, parent or preacher, you could baptize your own son. I know that isn't the best description but usually pastors only baptize and it isn't as if a random person is baptizing them, the person baptizing them has had a significant impact in their life... it just doesn't matter about gender or ministry spot.

But the whole service was beautiful and brought tears to my eyes and as it ended the lead pastor said an amazing phrase, "That this service is the best gospel presentation, seeing people following after Christ." It was something close to that. :)

Well after we came from the church we all went to the Thom's house which is conveniently on lake Altoona and we had the barbecue where we ate tons of good food, had fabulous conversations, played some fun games like DORK Ball, and were able to do a little double decker jumping and boat riding. It was a grand and fun occasion.

So proud of you Connor Thom.

Friday Fun

2008-09-09T11:46:00.003-04:00

Well hello everyone!!! I am back to write... yay, and if you read the blog right before this and even the one a couple before that one you will see that there is many things that have happened and many things to come such as pictures... some of them that will blow your MIND! I mean one of these things looks like it is strait out of the Chronicles of Narnia, i know... you are getting excited aren't you. Yes, yes... admit it.

Well here we go, i love the fact that God has called me to ministry but not just in one form or fashion, but in multiple ways from speaking, to leading worship, to traveling 3000 miles away to honestly anything. I will go where he sends me. Pretty dangerous statement but i mean it with everything in me. So I love that school has started back up, not only because i get the joy of doing work that i love so much but because FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes - a school-wide Bible study that anyone can attend) has started back up. This whole month is filled with opportunities to speak and lead worship to glorify God.

This past Friday i went to Lost Mountain Middle School with Andrew Walden, and Mark Henry, the lead teaching pastor at North Metro, spoke. it is always a fun and rockin time. Very encouraging.

Last time i was there Mark Henry said an encouraging word to andrew about me and my hand percussion playing, to the gist of we need him to play sometime for one of our Sunday services. I was incredibly honored and humbled and so this time around that thought was rekindled by myself and it started to kill my servant spirit. This attitude of showing off was put in my life. I prayed against it and simple yet beautiful beats came out. I say this experience just to mention that my desire is to be more like Christ, humble in everything i do, yet living passionately and fervently to pursue his kingdom with everything i am. So as i started my morning with a little pride issue, God counteracted that and blessed me.

Also, along with that, something that i have talked to Jon Messarra about is not caring about who i know or necessarily the supposive bigness of what i do. Meaning not worrying about the talent or stars i know, but being a real, down to earth person constantly building relationships.

And so now after i had that eventful Friday morning i honestly forget what happened in the middle of the day but by the end of it, it meant that i was traveling to one of my favorite places to escape to... my friends cabin right off of the Chattahhoche River right below Helen. It is such an amazing place to go to, to raft down, swim in, discover beauty and hidden waterfalls and rope swings... I love it, it is a surprise every time.

But we loaded up my canoe on my car, and caravanned to the cabin with Justin and his mom and dad in their car and me and my brother Mike in mine. So we eventually got there and everyone else finally arrived by 2:00 in the morning. Woo was greeting the last comers kinda a scary story... you will have to ask for the story, but hey, it means we get to talk later so good deal huh? But as everyone was there and after meeting some of Justin's college friends who were way way nice we hung out for a little but then went to bed. But all of the "family" not Justin's parents, but all the older friends ended up sleeping in the same room and what a fun fun time. Full of laughs and good stories. I loved getting back with the family.

So as we woke up the next day we ended up playing on the river, getting a quick snack and then spent five hours kayaking, tubing, canoeing, swinging, getting bumped and bruised down the river. It was fun, it was... surreal. It was just a glorious time with old and new friends. But as we loaded back up at the take out we went home, had the most amazing barbecue, burgers that were to die for and corn on the cobb, among a few other items. So as we finished up dinner we had some amazing stories and shared some fun stories that Justin was involved with. Over all an amazing and incredible weekend. So as me and mike left late Saturday night, we tied the canoe back on and shot down back to our home.

On the way back though we made an unplanned stop at the golden arches for a few reasons, one of them being we wanted some chocolate shakes, and so that i could have something to help me stay awake. hahah... hmmm sneaky sneaky. Well as Saturday comes to a close, so does this segment of my weekend. Just a little more to go, tune in later today for a little something something. Boo Yah!

Tomorrow

2008-09-08T22:10:00.003-04:00

Tomorrow will be the day that you get an update of all the cool things going on... today is finished and i am just sooooo tired. Sorry, there is a lot of things that have happened from:

leading worship at an FCA,

playing in a river,

witnessing the most beautiful baptism service to...

spending an entire Monday on the lake... trying to wake-board but failing... but making some stride! :) (and yes i meant what i spelt)

Little Bitty Update

2008-09-05T17:34:00.003-04:00

Well i have this little bit of information for you avid blog readers... and that is i am going to my friends cabin this weekend, well a bunch of us are really and we are going to have a going away party for him because he is studying abroad in France for architecture for Georgia Tech.

So all that to say besides one post that i may... key word being may, and not the month, put on the blog tonight, you can expect me to be out like a trout and not touch this stupid computer for a little. I mean i like it but i can't wait to be away for a little with friends. Oh the beauty of relationships. :)

Out There

2008-09-05T00:34:00.004-04:00

If it's to be

That there's just no one for me

I'll try not to cry much

So no one will see

But if it's to be

That there is anyone for me

Our hearts will shine

So everyone will see

I've got some time,

So maybe if you're free

I could use a friend

Just to talk to me

If she's out there somewhere-somewhere

I would give everything to know.

Just to hold and to finally have her,

Take me to sunrise from indigo

Spent most of my life without

Anyone near

Never cared what happened

I never saw clear

But I'm getting older now

And I'm, thinking of my end

And to leave without love

Or without a friend

Well it's getting late

And maybe if I tried

I could find one

Before I die

If she's out there somewhere-somewhere

I would give everything to know.

Just to hold and to finally have her,

Take me to sunrise from indigo

It's not over,

It Im alive

But alone denied

But I'm still standing

It's not over,

It Im alive

But alone denied

But I'm still standing

If it's to be

That there's just no one for me

I'll try not to cry much

So no one will see

I've got some time

So maybe if you're free

I could use a friend

Just to talk to me

If she's out there somewhere-somewhere

I would give everything to know.

Just to hold and to finally have her,

Take me to sunrise from indigo

If she's out there somewhere-somewhere

I would give everything to know.

Just to hold and to finally have her,

Take me to sunrise from indigo

This song is called... you got it, Out There, by Sister Hazel. Hmmm this seems a little different then what i was reading yesterday... correct, because it is. I mean it could be different then what you were reading this morning as well, which ever.

But this song is such a huge representation of where I am in life. Oh Paul, you will find a wife, yadda yadda yadda. Yah i am going a little deeper then that. Right now i am in a place of odd contentment. I am enjoying this place because i know it is where God has me in this moment of life... but it is weird. It is not how i think i should feel at this point. (Just to let you know that i just edited during the edit, you all may get the full blog later but now... it isn't the time.)

To add on to this, i love the line in the beginning where it says "that there is anyone for me, our hearts will shine, so everyone will see." That line is beautiful. God combining my heart, and my plans with someone else's so that we shine for him in unison. This song is so good. Right now i am loving His company and am excited to see where he leads me. Well my thoughts... they are staying in my mind, i just cant think of what else to put and say... just know that i find this song beautiful and it is partly depicting where i am right now.

Dawn of a new Blog

2008-09-04T01:41:00.003-04:00

Well as i sit here, eyes strained because i no longer have my glasses on my head and with retainer in mouth, i am excited to say that i think there may be a new wind coming. As you know i gave platelets this morning but not before spending some time with my favorite person ever, you know the big G-O-D! Well i took an amazing nap which i was woken up by a phone call from my big little sister... you know what i mean. It's not like I am calling her fat, all though she does have a baby on the way (YAY!) I say that because she is older then me but smaller in stature and such.

Well eventually Luke called and we ended having lunch in a whole new place, The California Pizza Kitchen. What a heavenly place. We had a half and half, the Carne Asada and a Buffalo Pizza. It was great all the way from the pizza, to the server which shares the name of probably the coolest little girl cat in town... Shannon (go check out her blog) Eww how i love Psych. Any who and the desert which was this banana chocolate moose cake thing. Oh soo soo good. Man i wish i had a camera.

Well as we were eating i had mentioned that i had a blog to Luke, not really that i had one per say but that i had written something on it, and he had no idea i had one. So i told him why i had it and he said that we should start one of our little adventures to restaurants and movies and other fun activities. Almost like a Monday's Menu (hint hint, kinda where i am stealing this idea from but not entirely because Luke thought of it.) But we are trying to think of a cool blog name so let us know of some names. We have an idea or two rolling around but we are not sure.

Well after that we went to his house and watched A Good Year with the old Crowester in it. Pretty good, i really enjoyed it actually. And then i watched the premiere of Prison Break, SOOOO GOOD. I love Link the Sink.

Then we went to the Tap of Suburban and played Trivia and then i won four doll hairs for "playing my cards right."

Ahh i love how i started out long paced in writing about the events and then quickened it up. I honestly only planned to caption each event with a few words but you know how that goes.

One last thing, God is teaching me about patience and being content in where he has me. It is weird though, i like it but... i dont know there is just something strange. Well peace out and A-Town Down. :)

Tasty Platelets

2008-09-03T14:29:00.004-04:00

mmmm mmmm... This morning i woke up at six so i could go give me some platelets. I am pretty sure in a previous blog i posted my reason for going, but quick over-view, to save lives because at the time i couldn't give to save another.

Deep wasn't it?

But so this morning i gave platelets at 7:15 a.m. For those of you who don't know what those little things are, well they are the shtuff that dreams are made of, because without them flowing with your red blood cells, when you got cut or shanked, and i don't mean the pants pulled down but i use it in the way prison people use it... i feel it is more meaningful. haha, oh Zoolander. But for serious, these are the particles that flow within that red stuff that makes your blood clot. So platelets keep you from bleeding more then you really need to, and today i gave to counts of platelets... yay.

While giving these potentially life saving things i watched No Country For Old Men, i mean i couldn't really here all that they were saying, some parts of it were good, but over all i think the ending was not so great, kinda just happened. Maybe i will see it another time and like it more, anyone want to join me? Oh and yes, you get this little bonus of watching T.V. or a movie while giving platelets because the process is quite long. They stick a needle in your arm which i hate hate hate... then as this big machine sucks out your blood it strains, or separates out your platelets from your blood cells. Pretty cool, it took an hour and a half of my time this morning, i think a little longer, but who knows. Sarah the American Red Cross lady who was my... technician... this morning does. Any who so as it separates the platelets from the blood cells it flows all my blood back into my body, minus some platelets. :) Oh and the bag that the platelets goes into just looks like it is full of urine. I know a little graphic, but i thought i would just share this whole experience with you... and so, here are even more pictures!

Wait wait wait, what does this mean, that is right, i have a camera, i took a few pictures of the whole after affect of my little arm at the house. I mean nothing big but i thought it was worth some pictures, plus i think one is very artsy. And me having this camera and uploading pictures means one more thing... can you guess what it is, find out next one or two or three blogs. :)

(Yay artsy one!)

Oh John

2008-09-03T00:05:00.005-04:00

Hancock that is...

(Yay for a picture finally, even if it isn't mine)

So instead of getting wings with Scott and the others i went out to the doll hair theater with Justin and it was a great time. We saw... you guessed it, Hancock and it was pretty good i say. I know some of you may be thinking i didn't enjoy it or, ewww ewwww i really enjoyed it. But as for me, i thought it was pretty good and funny as well. Plus Jason Bateman is fantastic in the movie, and his son, what a cutie.

But forserious the movie was funny and it was great especially for half off Tuesdays at the dollar theater. Boo yah baby 75 centalones. I know that is more then a dollar but they raised prices awhile back. Well that is all i have for this blog. I just wanted to put something up for you kiddies. Plus i think it is good just to have fun and hang out with friends before they leave for eight months. So good day my good people.

Great Memory Day

2008-09-01T23:57:00.003-04:00

I am a little sad that i missed out on Chick-Fil-A's offer of wearing a college football team shirt and getting three free chicken strips, but it is all gravy.

I did on the other hand spend an entire day out on the lake which was pretty amazing... and just like in true Paul form there are no pictures to commemorate the occasion. (But good news out there to all you crazy bloggers that are keeping tabs on me, i will be posting some pictures from this Summer, and they will be amazing) So today started off with a little bacon and some pancakes. Oh how i love bacon, it is soooo good, especially when you add a little syrup to it. Any who it started off very nicely and then we went tubing for a few hours which was unreal. There is a 4 person tube called Big Mable... and let me tell you what, Mable is one fine lady packed with a bunch of fun. She is very stable and you can move all up and down and because of her large size, she makes it easy for you to stay on during the many turns that the driver may want to put you through.

Most of the time it was just so painful on the arms holding on so long and as it kinda rubbed your knees, elbows and little toesies raw, but it was well worth the pain it might have caused, especially when you can do a back flip off this thing. But during some of these mad dashes across the lake i would try and Gladiate Scott Thom off the tub and he would stay on as i flew off into the lake... darn him. But today was fantastic, just left me with a great lunch, fun day, sloppy finish and a little weird motion deal even as i write all this to you now.

Well folks, peace out and A-Town Down.

Look around at the beauty

2008-08-31T14:07:00.003-04:00

I may have mentioned this in a previous blog or to a few people in a few conversations but God is Amazing. Now that isn't what i have mentioned before... well it is but not what i really mean to mention right here and now.

Soooo... lets move right to it.

God has been teaching me to slow down and see the beauty that is around me. And oh is it always fun to remember to slow down and just look around. Not that these moments are necessarily huge God moments where he is coming down from heaven and blowing up a car in front of me or something, or making a guy in a wheel chair get up and walk, but these moments are priceless and i am soooo pumped that i took time to notice them.

I was coming back from Athens yesterday afternoon and i decided to take a new way home. I had my dad's Garmin GPS so i wasn't worried about getting lost. But of of Jimmy Boulevard, is that right, is that even a road off of 85, any who, i took a new way home. Well i was about to turn on to Buford Highway, at least i think it was Buford, and i looked to my right and what I saw was one of those guys holding those signs. You know, nothing out of the ordinary, he had some head phones on and then i saw him get crazy... i wish i had pictures, well really a video, but this man was on fire and gave his job more then the normal effort. The sign was probably a foot in height and four feet or something like that in length, but this man was dancing like wild with this sign. It was unreal. He was turning it around throwing it over his back, spinning it and with it, i mean this guy was amazing, and i just thought, God thank you for this.

The other moment i saw was just driving to Bruton's house and saw a horse drawn carriage, well two horses pulling i think two carriages with rebel flags in the back and men that were shirtless and had foot long beards. It was amazing. I love God and the beauty and amazing sights that he has given me to see.

Plus after that awesome view i was able to go to the 14th annual Bruton family fish fry. It was awesome got to meet and hang out with some cool people and played two hours of some intense volleyball (if it was any more intense it would be camping) haha, haha, wow. :) But after that faded and after the amazing food and snacks which actually preceded the olympically awesome game of volleyball, Bruton and i got in the hot tub, great for the muscles and just had some beautiful conversation. Some well needed time of just hearing each others life for the past little bit. It ended with some prayer but i loved it. I love my buddy Eric and getting to catch up and just talk was awesome. I just love relationships and being open to let God lead them where they go. I mean i felt so good leaving him, and just encouraged.

Well again, remember, to slow down and notice the crazy and beautiful creation that God has placed around you.

Interviewing Some Potentials

2008-08-30T01:30:00.004-04:00

First i would like to start off by saying i love Josh and Caroline Cody. What a cute couple. I got to have dinner with them tonight, and they graciously payed. I was soo pumped about that. I mean it was unexpected and i nice little surprise. But it was pretty cool because i was able to chat it up and shoot the breeze with Caroline who i haven't seen in ages. So that was great getting to catch up, but just as amazing for me was getting to talk to her hubby and getting to know him more. (The Grill or whatever it is called in Athens, one of the best Chocolate shakes i have ever had in my entire life).

But tonight was great, besides the whole conversation dealio because we had SWAT INTERVIEWS!!! They were amazing, and even though a few of my friends couldn't make it, we had some solid and unreal leaders come through. It was cool being a part of the whole process and God showed me a lot in that. That I don't have to do anything specific those nights, just build relationships with those potential new leaders and love on them. Well not to go into detail, because it is too early to, but God had his hand over everything, and even though we did it more efficiently this year, the whole process of deciding on the leaders went incredibly smooth and God blessed us amazingly.

I loved it because i was able to meet some new people, one girl that goes to KSU. She is getting married but man is she on fire for God, it is sooo cool to just listen to her and hear her passions.

I am just so excited with all of the leaders that God has blessed us with, it makes me think as I look back, how in the heck did i get here.? Well as brief as this is, know that tonight was amazing for relationships and fun, plus i found out a second ago that my friend Mac Cockrell has a blog... go to it. www.macthemind@blogspot.com.

Peace out and A-town down my friends.

Little by little

2008-08-29T02:21:00.004-04:00

Little by little... what does that mean, over the next few days you will start seeing some changes to my profile... and hopefully me. :) I would do most of it now, but hey it is so early in the morn and i have to wake up in a few ours all so i can worship the King of Kings at Kennesaw Mountain High School.

Things i have realized tonight though:

1. I need to slow down and realize the beauty that God has all around me. I recently began asking myself why am i not experiencing these adventures that i did while i was in Alaska? Why am I not falling in love with the beauty around me? Why am i so empty, why no stories, why no.... blahhhh!!! And tonight God gently opened my eyes to the pace i was going at life, 100 mph, when He desires me to go 45 and cruise slowly cruise threw this thing called life. Enjoy the experiences that He has put in my life, enjoy the people, the life, the everything.

2. Everything is spiritual. God is working in my life now to pre-pare for the future. I hate the process but i love it so much. At this college deal at North Metro called Echo we are studying Nehemiah and learning about him rebuilding the wall of Jericho. He is so patient in waiting with God as he prepares him for great things. This idea of everything is spiritual has been brought up by a friend of mine and a few times recently. God is amazing. I need to do my best in school and work and ministry and so much, but God has a plan for it all, and even though it seems like a lot, lets be real... it is all worth it.

3. Taking back OUR story. I don't have this B-HAG (Big Harry Audacious Goal) except that i want to build community and relationships with people. I want to bring people together to serve Christ. I want to know YOUR story and for you to know MINE, so that we can edify, build up, the body of Christ. As we learn and listen of each others experiences we are building up the body of Christ. So realize and understand that your story is mine and mine is yours. How beautiful is that. Man i love my God.

So with these three things, understand and know that i am following him with everything. Know that a few things and the look of this blog will be changing and know that i desire to share life and stories with you...

Get ready for God to change US for HIM!!!

Process De Life

2008-08-28T18:48:00.004-04:00

I am thrilled about the process of life. Man some things surely suck, but over all i am pumped and excited to see what God is doing in my life from school, job (which is way way slow of a process - booo procrastination) and relationships, which involves a lot of learning in patience and self control. Plus it involves memorizing names and being sociable and outgoing, but mainly patience... tuff. But in all this patience and self control i find much joy in pursuing God and seeing where he puts people in my life. About seeing how he directs me with school, ministry, family, and life decisions.

I recently had a pretty amazing conversation with a gentleman who goes by the name Eugene. It was a glorious conversation and was needed for the time and place that i am in in my life. The main things that he mentioned was finding your self worth in Christ alone, and by realizing that life and all its happenings are part of a process. This process called life is amazing with all its twists and turns and that is why i desire with everything in me to drink of it deeply.

As i have been on this process and journey since i have been back from Alaska it seems that i have been falling back into the complacency of where i was before. I got this negative feeling this morning, that has honestly started to eat me alive. This feeling that i am falling away from Christ, not like I am losing my salvation, but that i am not pursuing him as i should. This feeling came over me in some big ways this morning and even last night as i began to realize that even though i was praying for others, there was parts of my prayer time that were selfish. I started praying last night and this morning and began to realize that i am pursuing others and other things more then i am pursuing God. So as i thought back to what Eugene and I talked about i began to remember my absolute desire to give all of me for God, to pursue HIM with everything in me. I started to think about this process and the fact that Eugene mentioned that as he pursued God, God put certain people and things perfectly in place for where he is now.

What an encouragement my friends, to remember and realize as i pursue God he will put things perfectly in place, so there is no worry about where certain relationships, job opportunities, and how school things will fall. I am not saying to just slack off and let things happen, but I am saying as I pursue God he will put things in place that fall in line with my heart and my plans, which i pray and hope are His will.

So this process of life... as hard as it is i am enjoying it. This process of life, i can't wait to see all the adventures God blesses me with as i pursue him. So i really just ask that you help me by praying that i continue to pursue him fervently with everything, and to not fall into the complacency of where i was before. Oh and i would say this... together, lets drink deeply of this adventure called life.

Fear that Grips

2008-08-26T10:19:00.004-04:00

There is something (hint hint, look at the title) that is gripping my life. It started quite a little bit ago when I was trying to do a gainer. (Running forwards and jumping and then doing a back flip) My body gets stuck sometimes strait up and down, i fear with everything in my to do an entire flip. My legs stay stiff or my upper half does and so there is no rotation. I know you are thinking, Paul you crazy, kid, this is nothing to worry about. I would agree, accept this one little instance is affecting me in really small yet impacting ways.

I mean with every decision above my basic needs there is now this little voice in the back of my head saying ahhhh you cant do it. Don't worry about it. I get weak on the inside, my body goes numb and i have to really really concentrate and think hard to actually complete a simple task. I love to give platelets, i know you are saying who loves to get needles stuck into them and get there blood taken out, filtered and then put back into them. Well that person is me, it is huge and impacting for other peoples lives. Cancer patients will get those platelets and it will give them a little something something to help them live. The reason how i found out about platelets and the reason why i give is in honor of one of the most amazing women, one of the best mom's i can think of, Marge Lipop. What an amazing women of God. She was absolutely beautiful. I loved her servants heart as she believed in us youth and as she served us and brought joy to everyone around her. It was an encouragement to here from Mr. Lipop how she actually cared and loved for me. I was too young to actually give platelets at the time, but now, for her and everyone else... I give. But there is a greater fear then before about giving them. I can literally feel a slight pain in the arm as i think about giving.

Then there is being myself. God is creating me to be more outgoing and sociable for his glory and his purpose. It is amazing to see how he actually is changing me. But there was this social gathering at my friends apartment, FOXXY MOMMA! and one of his roommates is the RA of that building and so there was a bunch of people over. So i was just being myself and goofing around and saying some stuff to help break the awkward silence for them. Well i was about to leave and the Fox and the guys that i was there to see, we were off in another room asked me to sing a little. The phrase that you must shout out with umpf is "My mind is telling me know... but my body, but my bodys tellin me yes!" So it took me awhile to break through this dumb fear and actually just shout it to the roof tops.

I know these aren't important scenarios, but how far will this fear grip me? In what way is it going to hinder me? I want it gone, i want to do that gainer, i want to shout out what my bodys telling me, (haha) i want to live OUT LOUD... but how can i when this fear grips me and is choking me out?