patience is a virtue...but dont compromise the cores

almost every day, i get to witness immaturity at a level i never thought imaginable. today was no different. on occasion durring my ride home on the bus i get to listen to high schoolers talk like and about things you would expect a 5th grader to talk like and about. it is very sad......trust me. seeing this lack of maturity troubles me. i fear that todays teenagers are probably the most immature bunch this world has ever had the sad privilege of bearing.

today, i listened to two boys who were 15 years old talk about home coming. durring their loud obnoxious immature discussion of this topic i learned that they both planed on having sex in a hotel that would be secured by a friend who was 18 and had a credit card, immediately following the dance. almost in the same breath one boy mentioned how he had a friend who assured him he would pick him up no matter how drunk or high he might be, and then the two started joking about it. now, if you know me i have very little tolerance for immaturity.....and in my flesh i wanted to turn around and punch these two kids in the face so they would be physically incapable of speaking anymore. that was my flesh.

i restrained myself long enough to get to my bus stop where i exited and thanked God for helping me hold back and allowing my stop to be so close. but my mind started thinking. i was so impatient with these two children that i wanted to knock them out for their immaturity and stupidity. and i started thinking, how often do i deserve that to be done to me? how often am i immature and stupid. how many times does God sit on His throne and just shake His head?

the patience that God exhibits with us is unfathomable. no matter what i do, how immature i am or how stupid i am, i know that God still loves me. now there have been times in my life where He has smacked me on the back of the head.....and i needed it. but He is a patient God, a loving God. it is a reminder to me that as a follower of Christ, and even more so as a minister i must have a patient Spirit when it comes to dealing with people. not that i lower my standards, or compromise my values or beliefs to be patient, but that i be lovingly patient, seeking what is best for that person.

in other words, next time something like this happens im going to say something.......cause confronting the issue in this case is better than letting it go. especially since il have the STA rules and regulations backing me up!

Tough Decisions

in the last few years of my life i feel i have had to make some tough choices. choices that would affect my life both short-term and long-term. my first choice to move to hesston for two years for school, moving over 600 miles from my home, family and friends.....moving away from comfort. another big decision i had to make recently was moving out here to Washington state to continue my schooling. twice as far as before. distance did not make this one difficult.....saying goodbye to my dad did. leaving someone in this case, who had a strong hold on my heart. i care for my dad and hate saying goodbye to him, simply because the fact that it could be the last time is so real.

but i have come to recognize time and time again, that all of this is part of life. we will continually have to say goodbye to people and places, and say no to the same. this was the case for me today. tonight is the kick-off for the sr. high Youth For Christ club night, in which i was asked to be a small group leader. i was overly excited about this leading up to today. but something in my spirit changed today in regards to this. for some reason i felt burdened like never before whenever i would think about YFC. then something came to mind. this was just Satan messing with me, discouraging me. but then something else came to mind.

a day or so ago i was talking to my mom on the phone about my "busy" life. between going to class, doing homework, helping with the youth at Journey Fellowship, and now looking for a job, i really did have a full plate. yet i did not want to believe this as usual and add YFC to the pile. i remember my mom talking to me about committing to more than i was really capable of handling. all of this came to mind as i wrestled with participating in YFC. i filled out the paper work.....i was asked by YFC before doing any of the paper work......wasnt this God saying "go for it!"? this is what i thought, being an optimistic person in this area.

but something inside me today as i wrestled with this YFC deal kept poking at me. you ever have a time in your life when God makes it clear that He does not want you to go a certain way or do a certain thing? iv had it happen before, when i wanted to be a pilot. that lesson stuck with me. well this time around, it was more personal. i heard God speak to my spirit this afternoon as i sat here in my room. He spoke very clearly, "not at this time".

so with that, with God speaking to my spirit and saying "not at this time", i called Harry (YFC ministry director) to inform him of my position. this choice was one of the hardest for me to make. to say no to serving in a ministry is never easy in my book, especially if your heart is truely in it, as mine is for YFC. as saddened by this decision as i am, i felt as if a huge burden was lifted from me once i hung up the phone. i pray that one day in the near future i would be granted the opportunity to serve with YFC........that God this time would speak to my spirit "yes, at this time".

Pants Belt 101

after my ride home on the bus today i felt compelled to do some studying. not like you are probably thinking, school and all.......but about belts. why do we have belts? is it strictly for fashion, to look "kool"? this is what i think todays culture has told us. and like stupid sheep who dont know how to take care of ourselves (also due to the culture and society i might add), the youth of today have bought into this idea that the belt is a piece of fashion and therefore has no practical usage.

WRONG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

so, let me introduce you to HOW TO PROPERLY USE A PANTS BELT 101 (aka, how to use a belt for idiots).

the purpose of the pants belt is to HOLD YOUR PANTS UP. you might want to repeat that to yourself several times. try recording it on tape and listen to it repeatedly while you sleep tonight.

here is what you want to do. go to the store and go to the belt section. find a belt and put it around your waist. when you buckle it, it should rest at or above your hip bone. NOT 6 INCHES BELOW IT!

news flash........most girls and women do not find your pants hanging at your knees or ankles attractive.......not to mention it makes me want to smack you for your stupidity. do not tell me it is comfortable, cause i dont buy it.

bottom line, the belt was made to hold your pants up, not make you look "kooler". if you want to look "kooler" go cut your hair. and ladies, if your "boyfriend" wears his pants like this, knock some sense into him! and i would also encourage you to stay away from anyone who wears their pants like that.

in closing, watch this video..........after all, who wants to be like this idiot?

quotes #1

so the quote section on facebook is dumb, and wont let me post all my favorite quotes. here i will be posting my favorites from the book "Our Legacy" by John Hannah. check back for more!

"The very community that historically has been deeply interested in transcendent, timeless truth seems intent upon focusing on the merely private, personal, and temporal. If I may be so blunt, the church has lost its soul."
- John Hannah in "Our Legacy"

"The evangelical church is on the brink of becoming another of the many social, do-good agencies whose purpose has to do with helping people to more fully enjoy this life while neglecting the implications of eternity."
- John Hannah in "Our Legacy"

"I say the church will live and flourish in the new era, as it has in every other, because its origins and power are not of this world but from heaven."
- John Hannah in "Our Legacy"

"Theology is made in history; it is the result of study of the revelation of God. It is a human endeavor by fallible people who engage all their intellectual strength and Spirit-inspired ability to understand an infallible book with the sure promise that the Spirit will lead us into 'all truth'."
- John Hannah in "Our Legacy"

"In essence, the Old Testament era is one of anticipation of the coming of the vaguely explained deliverer, shadows that gradually take on substance."
- John Hannah in "Our Legacy"

wake up call

today i took my first theology test......and unfortunately didnt do to well. but that is besides the point of this blog. but in preparation to taking this test i picked up the required text and started reading. it was only about 15 pages, so i got lucky since i waited till right before i took the test!(see the otter in me?)

anyway, the book is called "Our Legacy: The History Of Christian Doctrine" by John Hannah. i thought to myself, ok, just a few pages and an easy read (for real) according to my prof. so i opened up the book ready to engage my mind full force. but within reading the first page of the introduction i was ready to cry.

why you ask?

one main reason..........truth.

much of what Hannah says in these first few pages has been my heart for some time now regarding the Church today (and yes i mean big c Church). one thing Hannah says bluntly that i strongly agree with, is that "...the church has lost its soul."

see, the church has become this place you go to feel good. its all about making people feel good (aka Jesus loves you). and while i agree that Jesus loves people and we need to stress that, we stop there! as Hannah puts it "The evangelical church is on the brink of becoming another of the many social, do-good agencies whose purpose has to do with helping people to more fully enjoy this life while neglecting the implications of eternity."

you see it? its probly happening in your church this day. the church has jumped on board with the culture in becoming secular more and more as time goes on.


in this introduction Hannah states the reason for the writing of this book. he points out that the church does not put enough emphasis on the work of Christ and the implications of it, and rejecting it in favor of making everyone feel good. i would agree when he says "It is time for us to listen to the Scriptures for our message, not to the beckoning cry of a pleasure-inebriated culture." its like letting people who dont believe the Bible tell us what it says!

so here it is church.....lets get it together. there is more to the message of the Bible than feeling good. iv said it before, and i say it again. i see a time coming very soon, a time needed for some time now. i see a reformation on the doorsteps of the Church, and it is banging on the door. i pray that it will break down the door, and seek the fundamental elements of the Christian faith we have lost in our embrace of the culture. we need to "...rediscover the gospel, its glory, and its power."

may this become a reality one day very soon.

Everything Testifies

i got to my second class a little early today......like about 45 minutes early. it was nice out, kinda warm with an overcast sky and a slight breeze. in light of this, i thought it would be nice to lay down on the grass and just chill till my class started. i found a nice piece of green earth secluded from anyone else that might be walking around and closed my eyes.

i was instantly overcome with a sense of peace.......something in me was touched. i felt overcome and lead to praise God for what He has done. i thanked Him for where He had allowed me to be, in this awesome country that i love so much, surrounded by the mountains. i opened my eyes and looked up at the clouds passing by, and started noticing shapes in the clouds. the first i noticed was a hole in the clouds in the shape of a dog........and then, the shape of a heart.

this got me thinking. there is something inside everyone that points towards God. we either accept it and embrace it, or we deny it.

i started thinking about the conversation i had in my Genesis class about creation, and how everything points to God, all creation. so i wondered how could anyone deny His creation and His love for us? that heart shape in the clouds testified to me today that God loves me......He showed me through His creation.

you can see it every day. do you notice it?


im drawn to a passage in Scripture that describes this. paul wrote in the first chapter of the book of romans, "For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities - His eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse."


see, everything around us is screaming out to us. everything around us is pointing to one thing, one person. all of creation testifies of its maker, or its creator the Lord God Almighty........YHWH.

so where do you stand? today i was reminded of God's love for me. He shows me every day through His creation which surrounds me. it surrounds you to.

do you hear it screaming? do you see it pointing?