January 2011
44 posts
3 tags
Being Single on Valentine's Day →
“As a single, I know that the flaring up of strong feelings on Valentine’s Day is almost unavoidable. But we always have a choice. It can be a fire that burns us or a fire that fuels us. And if I could issue one challenge to my fellow singles out there (and to myself), it is to make this day a monument of devotion, not of depression. Aim your attention outward, not focusing on what you...
3 tags
I just signed up to be a part of a jump rope competition my buddy in Czech is hosting against 13 other people, for a chance to win an iPod Nano.
Most amount of jumps in 1 min, 4 min and 8 min time categories win. I tried doing just 1 min of jumping rope on Saturday. This is not going to be pretty. But…
I. WILL. WIN.
Bring on the PAIN!
4 tags
Over the Flood
Yesterday, as I was spending some time reading my Bible, I ran across a verse that God used to speak directly to me:
The LORD sits enthroned over the flood; the LORD is enthroned as King forever.
- Psalm 29:10
You see, the start of 2011 hasn’t been the easiest for me. Many of you know that for the past two years, I have been living on unemployment. It’s not something I’m...
4 tags
Music Sunday: Better Days
This week’s Music Sunday recommendation is one of my favorite songs from one of my favorite bands. The Goo Goo Dolls definitely aren’t a “Christian” band (can any band really be Christian, since Christian is a noun and not an adjective??), but Better Days, and really many of their songs, portray a truth in life that many “Christian” bands miss. I have used...
buildingothersup asked: Hey! I somehow found your tumblr this evening while roaming the internets and I am really enjoying what you write! I feel like, if time ever warranted, we could have some lengthy and interesting discussions. for one...i'm from nj. and call monmouth county one of my homes. :) though i don't live there anymore, it will always be home for me. i ran a college ministry program in kansas for a...
buildingothersup asked: just kidding about nj... lol. there is a monmouth university/college near where i live back home. whoops!
2 tags
Week in Review: Jan 29
This was a bit of a tough writing week for me. At least, it started out that way. I tend to write my blog posts a day ahead, in order to get them published and out to you by 9 a.m. the next morning and, for whatever reason, I was struggling with what to write about on Sunday and Monday. I felt…empty, like I didn’t have anything else to say. For a while I thought I might have gotten...
4 tags
10 Words: Being Yourself
So I’ve seen quite a few other bloggers to something like this, and I thought I would give it a try. Instead of writing my typical, lengthy blog posts, I’m going to try and write something just as powerful in 10 words.
I know, it’s not going to be easy for me.
I’m not sure if this is something I will continue, or if it will just be a one-hit-wonder, but I like trying new...
5 tags
The Church that Gives
As some of you know, the past two years, I found myself living on unemployment benefits. It definitely wasn’t (and still isn’t) an easy thing to deal with, knowing that I could not provide for myself, couldn’t pay my bills without assistance and continued to receive rejection letter after rejection letter from the over 500 job openings I applied to.
If you’ve ever been...
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The Power of a Team
The past few days, I have been really humbled.
As some of you know, I have been serving in college ministry for the last eight and a half years. I sacrificed my time. I sacrificed my dream job. I moved to a tiny town that doesn’t have much to offer young adults. I stayed up late, worked less than desirably paying jobs, invested my time, energy and money into empowering, encouraging and...
Sometimes a closed door, is the very thing that gets us where God wants us to go. Closed doors are like divine detours. While our small failed plans can be incredibly discouraging and tremendously disorienting, God often uses the things that seem to be taking us off our course, to keep us on His.
-Wild Goose Chase by Mark Batterson (via pheven)
givemeindiana asked: Thanks for the follow. It is good to see more young people proud of their religion
dakotakelly asked: Would you be interested in racing toughmudder with me? toughmudder.com
I am planning to race twice Atalanta in March and Avon CO in June.
I am planning to race twice Atalanta in March and Avon CO in June.
5 tags
A Heaven Without Christ?
The other night I was reading through chapter 6 of Crazy Love by Francis Chan, when I ran across a quote from John Piper that really hit me:
The critical question for our generation - and for every generation - is this: if you could have heaven, with no sickness, and with all the friends you ever had on earth, and all the food you ever liked, and all the leisure activities you ever enjoyed, and...
4 tags
Who is a Missions Trip Really About?
Last week, I received an @ mention on Twitter that kind of bothered me. I have been Tweeting lately about how excited I am to be planning another Impact Mission Trip to the Czech Republic, and out of the blue, a “big named” Christian youth and college ministry group sent me this:
[Group Name] offers both short and long term trips. We can customize a trip for you.
This bothered me...
6 tags
Music Sunday: Dirty and Left Out
This past week, I have found myself constantly listening to Dirty and Left Out by The Almost. Before you start thinking they are my favorite band, let me say that this song was recommended to be through a comment on last week’s post - and I have to say, it’s pretty powerful.
I think every one of us has those moments where we wonder why God is still with us. We mess up, we make...
2 tags
Week in Review: Jan. 22
With all the writing I’ve been doing lately, I thought it might be a good idea to start a Weekly Review - giving you a look back on the week, listing the most viewed posts, most commented on post, least viewed post, and my favorite post that week. I know many of you might not be able to check the blog daily, so I figured this would help you stay in the know and keep you from missing some...
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Who is YOUR God?
All of us have that one part of God we connect with the most. Maybe it’s a characteristic, an attribute, a personality trait, a name or a quality that comes to mind when we think about God. It’s what you see of Him when you’re all alone and it’s just you and Him.
Mine is Dad.
It may not seem that unique or special or deep, but ever since God became real to me,...
4 tags
Who is YOUR God?
All of us have that one part of God we connect with the most. Maybe it’s a characteristic, an attribute, a personality trait, a name or a quality that comes to mind when we think about God. It’s what you see of Him when you’re all alone and it’s just you and Him.
Mine is Dad.
It may not seem that unique or special or deep, but ever since God became real to me,...
Wow... nuff said. →
“Irena Sendler. 1910-2008 A 98 year-old German woman named Irena Sendler recently died. During WWII, Irena worked in the Warsaw Ghetto as a plumbing/sewer specialist. Irena smuggled Jewish children out; infants in the bottom of the tool box she carried and older children in a burlap sack she carried in the back of her truck. She also had a dog in the back that she trained to bark when the...
5 tags
Do Not Fear
If you’ve visited my blog at all the past few weeks, you probably already know that 2011 is a year of courage for me. I’m trying to face my fears, do the things God has called me to, and walk forward in areas that, well quite frankly, scare me. And while it’s easy to sit here and write about courage…
It’s a lot harder to live it.
You see, nothing within me has...
“Wrong will be right, when Aslan comes in sight.
At the sound of his roar,...”
– C.S. Lewis
(via pheven)
4 tags
Focused on Life
This past weekend, I listened to a sermon by Graham Cooke titled What God Wants From You - a message about how everything God desires from us - be it holiness, love, trust…whatever - He first gives to us. It definitely was one of those messages every Christian should listen to. And while I could probably write posts for the next two weeks on what I gleaned from this message, there was one...
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Defend the Sinner?!
Sunday night, I enjoyed one of my weekly guilty pleasures - I watched Family Guy. And while this show can sometimes be crass and offending (and always stupidly funny), they writers of this show have an amazing talent of using humor to point out various issues in the world.
This Sunday’s just happened to be about the church.
In this last episode, Lois (the mother in the show) happens to be...
5 tags
To Vent or Not To Vent...
This past weekend, I had one of those smack-down moments from God - you know, those times where you think you’re doing well, where you’re trying to encourage or challenge or shape others and God shows you that, really, you struggle with the same issue?
Yea, not so fun.
You see, I was on the receiving end of a lot of venting this weekend. People coming to me, telling me about how...
5 tags
Music Sunday: Amazing Because It Is
The last few months, Amazing, Because It Is by The Almost has become one of my favorite and most played songs. I just can’t get enough of it. Every time I hear it, every time I sing along to it, every time I blast it in my car as I’m speeding along to work, I’m reminded that not only has God saved me…
He continues to save me.
He continues to save me from my fears. He...
4 tags
With God...
The other day, I read a blog post at Connecting to Impact called Confidence Killer - all about the one thing that kills the author’s confidence…himself.
In this post, that author wrote something that really challenged me:
I can’t say I believe God and in the next breath think I can defeat Him.
I don’t know about you, but I do this all the time. God gives me a dream, gives me...
5 tags
Your One Thing
Over the last few days, I have found myself in a lot of conversations with people who are wrestling with God and what He is trying to do in their lives.
Some thought they would be married by now…only to find themselves hopelessly single.
Others thought they would have kids by now…only to have lost the budding life within them.
Some thought that they would have accomplished...
5 tags
Take Courage
Yesterday, I wrote a post where I pretty much set aside my “I’m full of faith and can trust God to do anything” mask and word vomited to everyone that *gasp* I’ve been walking in fear. It was definitely one of my rawer moments…and I seriously considered doing a massive edit before any of you had a chance to read it. I really didn’t want everyone knowing I was...
4 tags
I Want MORE!
Yesterday I happened across the promo video for a new series at Cross Pointe Church called MORE. If you haven’t seen it yet, make the jump, take four minutes and watch it here (or click the picture above to be taken to the series page on Cross Pointe’s website).
Although this was just a short, four minute promo video, it really challenged me.
You see, during the past few years,...
“Hardships, are God’s shortcuts to maturity.”
– C.S. Lewis
(via pheven)
5 tags
Filled Back Up →
You may not have noticed, but the last few weeks I’ve been writing a lot more – blog posts, weekly Deeper email devotions (view the last one and sign up here), Facebook posts, Tumbler posts, and more. Call it a pre-new years resolution, a re-found love for writing, or just a way to kill time, I’ve been pushing myself to write more, to practice my craft, if you will.
But after a few weeks of...
4 tags
Music Sunday: My Hands Have...
In an effort to combine my love for writing and my love for music, I have decided to start a Music Sunday posting - where I will post a music video that has challenged or encouraged me, and why. Check back every Sunday for a new Music Sunday posting!
Earlier today I was searching YouTube for the music video of one of my favorite songs, when I ran across the video for Hands by The Almost (see...
Tirzah: Regarding the Church-sanctioned... →
classyliving:
It sickens me when I hear brothers in Christ talk about homosexuals in disgust or refer to them as a joke. It sickens me when my brothers in Christ see homosexuals as men and women who have made a reckless decision out of their own insanity. This may sound like a hyperbole but I honestly went through a night of meaningless talk on this issue and had to hear this garbage. And I...
3 tags
Sometimes you have to fall... →
“If conversion to Christianity makes no improvement in a man’s outward actions –...”
– C.S Lewis (via intelligentchristianity)
“She is out there. My Cinderella. She is real. She exists. I pray for her...”
– Adam Young (via sketchmedesire)
The Roller Coaster Year →
As I reflect back on 2010, I realize it was The Roller Coaster Year – full of amazing highs (traveling to Europe, starting my own non-profit, leading a church) and terrible lows (almost losing two family members, having to leave my church over petty new rules, still not finding a decent job). And although I could have done without the lows, over all 2010 wasn’t too bad.
So, without any further...
