Sermons And Sickness In September

Greetings, one and all. I wish I could say I'm writing this to you in good health, but if I said I was writing this to you in good health, I would be lying. I am going on day six with having a high fever and it's starting to get on my nerves. What made the sickness worse was that it kicked in right when I arrived in Jacksonville to visit family and friends. This weekend, aside from the sickness, was very fun.

It was great to see everyone. This was the first time in about a year that the whole gang was together in full force. We ate dinner, told stories, and told jokes along the way. This was the first trip back home that I was legitimately excited. In the past, my attitude was always, "I'm going to see friends and family and have some fun and that's it." This time was different for some reason. Maybe it was just my attitude. Perhaps it was everyone else in high spirits. Either way it was great.

While I was in Jacksonville, I had a preaching assignment on Sunday morning at Crown Point Baptist Church, my home church. Our pastor, Steve Thompson, has had a grueling year with stresses and other burdens that come with leading a church. As a result, he took a well-deserved vacation and asked me to fill in for him on Sunday morning. I have known about this preaching opportunity for months and thoroughly prepared. When Sunday morning came around, my body wasn't the only thing that hit the stage. My fever got the best of me in the middle of the sermon. About halfway through my first point I realized that if I didn't finish fast I was either going to throw up or pass out in front of everyone. I sped up the the sermon and gave an invitation finishing about ten minutes early. I felt awful - both physically and morally.

I prepared for this sermon more than I have any other and I feel I failed miserably; however, friend reminded me this week of a very important thing to remember. Whenever we preach the Word, whether we stutter, get nervous, or get sick, it will not return void. The Holy Spirit can use my ill self to accomplish His will, and I shouldn't limit Him by thinking that He cannot. The sermon went short, but very rarely will you ever hear of a person complain about a church service that finised early. =P

I plan on seeing the doctor tomorrow morning. Pray for me as I hope to be over this by the end of this week. Until next time take care and God bless.

It's OK, I'm With The Band

Well, my faithful readers, as promised I have returned and have much to share about now. Having just completed my first ever Disciple Now (that's D-Now to all the hip and happening youth ministers) I must say that it was total blast. Not only was this my first D-Now, but it was also the first time in two years I have taken part in something youth department related (I led the middle school boys' Bible studies this weekend). Lord have mercy time flies!

For those that are unaware of what Disciple Now is, Disciple Now works like a mini-youth camp lasting one solid weekend. Like most youth camps it encompasses all the essentials - worship time, Bible studies, preaching, fellowship, friendship, food, and fun. This D-Now was no exception. There is definitely much to share about. I got to meet some awesome teens and left with some great experiences. Some of those experiences were not new experiences but rather reminders of happier times. I figured I'd share at least one of those nostalgic experiences with you.

We had an awesome band that led our praise and worship. The band, called Iconoclasts, has both musical talent and stage presence - a very rare combination found in music today. They were so good in fact that if they aren't signed by a major Christian label by this time next year I'll be shocked (Remember, I know music and dabbled in radio so I don't say that often). Though very talented, the band members were very down-to-earth. I write all of this for two reasons: First, to give you some background to this story, and secondly, to shamelessly plug for an up and coming band that I actually liked. =P

As we came to the close of our D-Now, Jake, our speaker for Saturday night, gave an invitation to anyone who needed time to make things right with God. The band members came up and played a few songs, but as time progressed, the Spirit just kept moving. Being sensitive to the situation, the band members, all but the lead guitar player, quietly put their instruments down and moved off-stage. The remaining guitar player silently strummed his guitar and just improv'd doing an awesome job and just setting a peaceful mood.

When I was teen, life was chaotic for many reasons. Some of my happiest moments of my teenage years were centered around my youth department and the people I hung with there. Because I never sleep (check the time of this post and you'll believe me), most youth trips would have me and my youth pastor staying up into the wee hours of the night. My youth pastor, always having his guitar on hand, would just randomly strum along and improv away as we talked about life and God - sometimes just sitting there and saying nothing at all.

Saturday night took me back to one of those happier moments. For an instant I felt like I was back on the shores of Clearwater Beach, Florida late at night watching the waves and listening to the light sounds of a guitar. Just sitting in the church pew and hearing that melody put a smile to my face.

It's amazing how powerful music can be to a person. It can pump you up. It can put you at peace. It can make you laugh, and it can make you sad. For most people, there are those special songs that take us back. For me, just about every song I hear I have a story for. =P

While reminiscing, I started pondering the idea of being at peace. Psalm 46 has been a passage that's been on my mind for sometime now. If you have a free three minutes go ahead and read it today. Sometimes the best thing we can do is be silent and know that God is in control, and that, my friends, is the lesson of the moment.

I must say that I'm surprised I wrote this much. With D-Now behind me but not forgotten the next task at hand is the return to Jacksonville. I'm excited about home cooking, friends, ocean, and sushi. May I encourage you to listen to that song that takes you back. As for me, I'm out. =)

Everything And Nothing To Report

Well, that pretty much sums it up then doesn't it? Usually what I try to do on my little piece of internet real estate is share with you cool happenings, events, and lessons that have happened during my tenure of life; however, in the past few weeks, nothing has really stood out in my mind that is worth reporting. Instead, there are just some small events that I figured I'd share with you. It's better than nothing right?

Seminary students, particularly single, desperate guys, are REALLY getting on my nerves - more than usual actually. There really aren't many things in this world that make my blood boil, but harassing a girl in my presence will get me furious fast.
To any and all single male seminary students (that this applies to...you know who you are): Yes, it's perfectly ok to like girls. It is also ok to have the desire for marriage; however, it is not ok to stalk girls, hunt them down through internet tracking, and interpret common courtesy as a sign of "she wants to be my wife!" Try to lay off the deep theology. You go to seminary. If you didn't know theology at this point in the game you wouldn't be going far here; therefore, you do not need to show off to a girl your "all encompassing knowledge" - be honest with yourself, you're showing off! Most important of all, respect the girls! I don't know where you came from or who raised you, but, from where I came from, my father would half kill me at age 23 if I did half the stuff I've seen other guys do towards girls.

I'm overlapping two Biblical languages this semester. If you've ever read any of my previous posts you're fully aware how much Hebrew is by far the academic death of me. Now, I have not only my last semester of Hebrew to contend with but my first semester of Greek. I know what you're thinking. You're saying to yourself, "What was he thinking?!" The best answer I can come up with is that I probably wasn't thinking at all. It looked good on paper (key phrase: on paper) so I went with it. As a result, this semester will probably be the most miserable =(

In happier news, I have made some new friendships and strengthened old friendships along the way. I have met some awesome girls and some quality guys who I am very honored to call "friend." Sometimes misunderstandings happen. Sometimes schedules and distance seperate us from the people we care about the most, but never forsake a friendship that's worth not forsaking. I guess you can say that has been my lesson of the past week (yeah, you know who you are too).

Many things are indeed happening here. I guess in the hindsight of this post I could share about the totally awesome chapel I attended (voluntarily) on Tuesday, the D-Now group I'll be leading in a week, or my upcoming return to Jacksonville. Perhaps I've already written too much. Rest assured to all my readers that there will be many blog updates more often in the weeks to come (yeah, you know who you are too). Well, that's my randomness for the moment. Hope you enjoyed it. I'm off to play some ultimate frisbee. =P