A little bit about yours truly

Lately I have been blogging a lot about what the Lord is teaching me and wanting to be an encouragement for those who read this, but I realized for those who follow me (not sure who) that you don't really know much about who I am and I thought I would share a little bit about myself.

I love cookies'n'cream ice cream, Breyers! (the stomach is a way to a man's heart... ice cream is the key to my stomach)

I believed Santa was real until 4th grade

I dislike tomatoes

I secretly think I can sing decently

I Love the movie Elf

I am an only child & have no first cousins

I can't stand when people call me "Buddy"

I am obsessed with Fantasy Football

I am 22

I have an amazing family

I have all of my Pokemon cards still

I love clouds.... every kind

I play Mario Kart everyday

I Love playing the game of Basketball

I was held back in 2nd grade

I am a die hard University of Iowa Hawkeye fan

I recently got my hunting license and can't wait to kill something(animal)

I think it is hilarious when people wear sunglasses inside or on cloudy days
I have a deep desire to be a man after God's own heart
My Nana & Grandad are like my second parents, they are amazing!
I have a love/hate relationship with the game of golf (thanks for teaching me Grandad!)
I love the ocean

I enjoy rainy days

I like making cool sound effects
I have a huge crush on Norah Jones

I play the Ukulele

I am a momma's boy (proud of it) - Love you Mama!

I go to school at Chico State University & study Communication
Last but not least, and if you can't tell.... I have been saved by Grace & Love Jesus Christ more than words.

Here is a picture of my pops and I when I was a youngin, He has been the man in my life to show me Jesus, who Jesus is and what a man of God looks like, Thank you Dad for your example.

UGH

This life overwhelms so easily, with life running faster than Usain Bolt, it is hard to keep a focus on all that is within your individual life, not to mention being involved in others lives.  Life comes fast and we struggle to manage all that is in it, if you never have problems with life and manage it well, well extra brownie point for you.  But, for the rest of us, life gets out of hand, messy, ugly, overwhelming, and most of all inconsistent on many different levels, so whatever is going on right now in your life that is under this, that you don't think will end or your day is off to an awful start or lastly you have yourself worried to the core about a test, job or deadline.... just listen to the inspired words of David from God.

Psalm 37:3-8 "Trust in the Lord, and do good; you will live safely in the land and prosper. Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart's desires. Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust Him and he will help you.  He will make your innocence radiate like the dawn, and the justice of your cause will shine like the noonday sun. Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act. Don't worry about evil people who prosper or fret about their wicked schemes. Stop being angry, turn from your rage.  Do not fret for it only causes harm."

So stop and take a second if you know the Lord and ask Him to help you trust in Him and that He may show you how to take delight in the situation He has you. Sometimes we get caught up in telling Him everything, but He knows, just go to Him with a few simple words and He will know exactly what you mean. Wait for Him, because He has his best intentions for you, He's got your back!  So hand them over.... He is waiting.....

Psalm 55:22 "Give your burdens to the Lord. and He will take care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall."


Trust

Knowing vs. KNOWING

Now I know that I am, this second, being used for the Kingdom,  "Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven." Matthew 6:10, as Jesus put it.  I know that He is doing this in and through me and in you, according to His perfect Will. But, it is something about KNOWING and actually seeing with your own eyes His will being worked out.

Let me explain what I'm talking about, do you ever look back on a prayer you might have lifted up to the Lord and may have said to yourself, "oh! I totally forgot about that, that's why this is happening?" Well that is just the case, this summer I prayed that the Lord would place me somewhere new and different, doing something that I love and is a place where I can witness to those around me, and He did just that.  This weekend was just that, seeing the Lord move in and through you, is one of the sweetest feelings ever, a sense of Love comes over you and you know that you are far from worthy to serve Him, but being counted as a child of the Father leaves you in "Awe."

Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." So knowing that the Lord has his best intentions for you and that His Will is being worked out through you is one thing, but to actually see Heaven on earth in your own life, witnessing the Spirit move is, well it, it leaves me speechless, indescribable.
My encouragement today is to ask Him what He wants for your life, and if you have, ask Him to show you, to reveal it to you.  Use the gifts He has given you, and He will show you Heaven in a brand new way, a new light..... just wait on Him.... He will place people in your life.

Smile, our God is Faithful and will never leave us.

"Happy storm that wrecks a man on such a rock as this"

I want to start off by saying, this is not my work, a good friend sent this to me and thought that everyone needs to read this.....

"On mine arm shall they trust."Isaiah 51:5

In seasons of severe trial, the Christian has nothing on earth that he can trust to, and is therefore compelled to cast himself on his God alone. When his vessel is on its beam-ends, and no human deliverance can avail, he must simply and entirely trust himself to the providence and care of God. Happy storm that wrecks a man on such a rock as this! O blessed hurricane that drives the soul to God and God alone! There is no getting at our God sometimes because of the multitude of our friends; but when a man is so poor, so friendless, so helpless that he has nowhere else to turn, he flies into his Father's arms, and is blessedly clasped therein! When he is burdened with troubles so pressing and so peculiar, that he cannot tell them to any but his God, he may be thankful for them; for he will learn more of his Lord then than at any other time. Oh, tempest-tossed believer, it is a happy trouble that drives thee to thy Father! Now that thou hast only thy God to trust to, see that thou puttest thy full confidence in him.

Dishonour not thy Lord and Master by unworthy doubts and fears; but be strong in faith, giving glory to God. Show the world that thy God is worth ten thousand worlds to thee. Show rich men how rich thou art in thy poverty when the Lord God is thy helper. Show the strong man how strong thou art in thy weakness when underneath thee are the everlasting arms. Now is the time for feats of faith and valiant exploits. Be strong and very courageous, and the Lord thy God shall certainly, as surely as he built the heavens and the earth, glorify himself in thy weakness, and magnify his might in the midst of thy distress. The grandeur of the arch of heaven would be spoiled if the sky were supported by a single visible column, and your faith would lose its glory if it rested on anything discernible by the carnal eye. May the Holy Spirit give you to rest in Jesus this closing day of the month.

-Feel free to comment, have a blessed day and know that we all go through struggles, trials and tough times but Jesus says..... John 16:20-22  "You will grieve, btu your grief will suddenly turn to wonderful joy. It will be like a woman suffering the pains of labor.  When her child is born, her anguish gives way to joy because she has brought a new baby into the world.  So you have sorrow now, but I will see you again; then you will rejoice and no one can rob you of that joy."

"Now I say to you, a new commandment I give to you"

John 13:34-35 "A new commandment I give to you, that you Love one another; as I have Loved you, that you also Love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have Love for one another."
  How many times have you caught yourself experiencing the Love Christ has for you, in a moment of weakness, a moment of sin, falling into temptation, you name it? When we know we have messed up, stepped out of line in our obedience.  Or even times that you experience His presence and Love in worship or reading the word, or sharing the gospel to someone who is broken?  Whenever or where ever you have experienced Christ's Love, you know the feeling, the warmth, the joy, the feeling of no condemnation, disappointment is turned into compassion, as you hear "it's okay, it is okay, I Love you no matter what."

And now I ask you and myself, do we have that Love towards others? Do we Love them as Christ has Loved us? I know that I can honestly say, not even close.  I am so quick to judge, and so quick to assume.  The reason why I am writing about this is because I don't Love others the way Christ has Loved me.  Here I am thanking Jesus for His Love in my life, for His warm smile, His kind touch, and His joy.  How am I loving others with that same Love? 

My challenge to you as you read this, is to recognize how Christ has shown you Love, and take those and Love others how He has Loved you.  If Christ has Loved you in all your hard heartedness, Love those who have a hard heart.  If Christ has Loved you through the pain, Love others through their pains!  Christ has show each one of us Love that surpasses all knowledge and understanding, but you understand it and He is calling you and myself to Love others in the specific ways He has shown you.  

Ephesians 3:19 "You will know Christ's love, which goes far beyond any knowledge. I am praying this so that you may be completely filled with God."

CHICO, I MADE IT!

Hey everyone, it's been a while, but I finally made it to Chico.  For all of you that don't know I just transfered up here to Chico which in about 1 1/2 hour north of Sacramento.  I had a hectic first week moving in and getting situated with a new life up here and at a "Big Boy School" since I have been at a community college for the past 3 years.  So to update you all, I am taking 5 classes, Tuesday and Thursday and I am getting involved at the local church called EV Free and also with CRU (Campus Crusade for Christ)  Everything is going well for the most part, I am living with my roommate from last year, he was one of 10 other roommates I had last year, in which all of whom I miss.  Two sundays ago one of my roommates, Greg, got married and it was one of the best weddings I ever went to.  The reception was in a barn which was awesome, and it was such a blessing to see my roommate marry the girl of his dreams.

So I ran across this the other day and wanted to share it with you guys, it gave me a pretty good laugh but also made me realize that it is so true..... If you know me, and even if you don't, now you know this about me, I love to watch kids(not in a creepy way) but with the perspective of how the Father views us as HIS children.

Things that kids have taught me....
1. It's more fun to color outside the lines.
2. If you're gonna draw on the wall, do it behind the couch.
3. Ask why until you understand
4. Hang on tight
5. Even if you've been fishing for 3 hours and haven't gotten anything except poison ivy and a sunburn, you're still better off than the worm.
6. Make up the rules as you go along.
7. It doesn't matter who started it.
8. Ask for sprinkles
9. If the horse you're drawing looks more like a dog, make it a dog.
10. Save a place in line for your friends.
11. Sometimes you have to take the test before you've finished studying.
12. If you want a kitten, start out asking for a horse.
13. Picking your nose when no one is looking is still picking your nose.
14. Just keep banging until someone opens the door (My favorite)
15. Making your bed is a waste of time.
16. There is no good reason why clothes have to match.
17. Even Popeye didn't eat his spinach until he absolutely had to.
18. You work so hard peddling up the hill that you hate to brake on the way down.
19 You can't ask to start over just because you're losing the game.


Think about them, they will make ur day brighter
-God Bless

2 weeks left & Catching up with a best friend

I have a little under 2 weeks left here in San Diego and running Student Venture ministry.  I can't believe it is almost over.  This week will look the same, Big Monday tonight where all the kids gather and then we will be having small groups tomorrow, dodgeball and bible study with the boys.  Also, this week will be the last week of me meeting up and mentoring with the guys 1 on 1.  The director of Student Venture, Shawn Faulkner, has asked me to write up and article of what the summer contains for followers and supports of 'SV' so keep your eyes out for that, I will most likely post it on here.  

This past weekend I was able to visit a very close friend of mine up at UCLA.  He is living in the frat he is in and is involved in CRU.  It was such a blessing getting to hang with him, and also to see his ministry in the frat and the relationships he has built with the guys and just the witnessing his life is to so many.  I got in late afternoon Saturday and we hung out and played basketball like old times then grabbed some Chipotle in Santa Monica on 3rd Street Promenade, which was awesome I have never been, so many street performers, and also got to see a lot of his friends as well as some people that I went on Summer Project with in New Jersey, which was great. 

 Yesterday we were able to just continue to catch up on our lives and dig into one another's over coffee and then got to run the courts some more playing ball.  There is just something about competition that just gets my blood pumping, especially basketball.  But anyways, we played and ended up driving with some friends to Reality LA which is a church in West Hollywood, and man I was blown away.  The worship, the message, I was so challenged.  The pastor went through Ruth 2 and how Boaz is an example of Christ allowing us to sit at his table, even though we are so undeserving as well as serving us.  The pastor said it like this..... "The CEO of the UNIVERSE has allowed us to sit at HIS table and serve us." I felt so blessed to see Tyler and just catch up, I consider him a close friend in the Lord and cannot wait to worship the King for eternity with Him.