please pray

With my estimated departure date less than a month away (Jan. 22), I'm beginning to feel a bit nervous about everything that has to take shape in order for this to happen on time... well, mostly I'm just nervous about raising enough support. I know God will provide if he wants me there, but the thought of not being able to go if I don't have my support is really starting to eat away at me. Satan will put thoughts in my head and tell me that this will just be another failed attempt at something I've tried and that I don't have what it takes to do a good job out there anyway... He tells me that this is just a big waste of my time and I should be pursuing something that makes a little more sense... He tells me that I'll buckle when I'm faced with something seemingly insurmountable... He asks me 'How will you be able to lead others if you're so lost right now?'... He tells me I'm already a failure and to just give up...
God has revealed to me my journey and I take it very seriously... He has equipped me with His Word and has given me the authority to discard Satan's lies... I trust that He will give me wise cousel and discerning thoughts... He will carry me when I face the unthinkable... He will help me find my way... He is my way.

And can You be
The One who created me
To live and breathe just to praise You...
Eternal One, and to Your son,
May Your will be done
On this earth and in Heaven
Where we'll praise
Your Holy Name, every day
And I will sing forever...

Christmas

...the buddies' first Christmas...

you know what happens when you assume...

For all of my faithful blog readers out there, I've heard rumors that there is a bit of confusion about my 'status'...
I apologize for the unpleasantness this may have conceived... For the record, I am single as of Virginia's departure to Ethiopia. We still keep in touch, but we are not an item. I guess I didn't write anything about it earlier beacuse I didn't to waste anyone's time with my Jr. High drama.... but I figure I do owe you all an explanation.
On a lighter note, it's Christmas... so everyone please join me in raising your glass of eggnog and offer up a toast of peace and love on this glorious holiday season... God bless us, everyone! (single tear)

Julia

This is my favorite thing to do when I'm at Nate and Lindsey's... I can't get enough!

tacky?

This is the most retarded thing I've ever seen... pine branches on the grill of your car... did you hit a tree? Are you okay? This is definately something I'm taking directly to Chris Christmas Rodriguez

....Merry Christmas

what a weekend

This past Saturday two of my dear friends, Brian and Shannon, were married... The Thursday before, my good buddies from the bachelor party started to arrive. Rocky, Landon and I met for lunch that afternoon and reconnected. It was awesome to see how God has been working in our lives and how out of the experience of the cruise we kindled some awesome bonds and relationships. Thursday night I met Landon at Brian's house to run some errands while Brian, Shannon and her family all celebrated their family Christmas. We met back at Brian's later that night to hang out with him, Shannon and two of her bridesmaids, Kristin and Emily. I was able to talk to both of these girls over the course of the weekend and was very impressed. Not only were they absolutely beautiful, but godly as well. As it turns out, Kristin is leaving for Ecuador in January for five months to work in an orphanage. We had an immediate connection as I shared about my upcoming trip to Africa to do the same thing! At the very least, it is just refreshing to know that there are still girls out there like this! An added bonus was that I mustered the guts to ask Kristin to dance at the reception and she obliged! All in all, Thursday was a fun day, but I was still missing the rest of the boys... they were on their way and were due in around 2 a.m.

Landon and I went over to my Church's 'Missionary House' where the guys from out of town would all be staying and were able to greet them as they arrived. We all pretty much crashed, but got up the next day and all had lunch together and went to the mall with Brian to help him find a last-minute wedding gift for Shannon. That night was the rehearsal dinner and afterwards all of us guys got together and played basketball at the YMCA. After this we all went back to the house and played Texas hold 'em until 4 a.m. It was a blast hanging with all these amazing guys again.


And finally the wedding... What a beautiful cerimony. My favorite part had to be the unity candle. While Brian and Shannon were lighting it, Jason Boyer, Travis DeWys, and Paul Cole sang 'Shine on Us' by Phillips, Craig and Dean and did an amazing job... While the song was going on and after they had lit the candle, the whole bridal party gathered around the couple and prayed over them... what an awesome picture of their love for Brian and Shannon!

The reception was so much fun... I've never danced so much in my life! I think I was on the dance floor for about 2 hours straight with very little breaks between!
Once again, this was a weekend that I wish didn't have to end... Nate Kingsbury and I were able to Drive Mark Liechty home this afternoon after church and had a an awesome time of sharing our struggles and dreams with each other... The bonds that were made with these guys have been so amazing... Since Nate lives so close, I've probably hung out with him the most and we have grown very close over the past couple of months... I would consider him one of my best friends with whom I can talk to about anything... I just feel that God is on the verge of doing something very big in all of our lives and it's so cool how we all keep in touch and are able to share all of this with each other! So, here's the end of another amazing chapter in my recent life... God continues to move and bless me with awesome friends and experiences! I know He is molding me, preparing me... I can't see exactly for what specifically, but I know that He has my best interest in mind... and for that I continue to praise Him!!!

Congratulations Brian and Shannon... I love you guys!!

my favorite

I learned something about myself tonight... something that I somehow knew was always there and available to me, but rarely had I tapped into it. If you can imagine what it's like to step into hot bath after a long day, or kiss someone for the first time... this couldn't compare to even a fraction of what I felt tonight. Something tangible... you know it's there and you know it can be had... and when you experience it, it becomes your favorite. I think I've had lots of 'favorites' throughout my life... basketball, music, a girlfriend, a new toy... but tonight was different... tonight was meaningful... tonight people took a step forward... tonight I 'got it'... it made sense... it was clear... tonight I felt something that was real... tonight I experienced grace... tonight I experienced conviction... tonight I experienced confession... tonight God met me where I was... tonight God moved in peoples lives... tonight God gave direction... God gave wisdom... discernment... sensitivity... compassion...

Tonight two buddies and I were together for a couple of hours and just prayed... tonight we were cleansed... tonight we were forgiven... tonight we were exposed... tonight we were emptied... tonight we gave everything... tonight we held nothing...

We poured our hearts out and gave what we had... tonight was special... tonight was my favorite.

need a good doctor?

this kid knows one

everything makes sense now

journey

It was so great to see these two little guys again when I got home. I didn't realize how much I missed them until I actually saw them look up and smile at me... These two little boys have taught me so much about love and how much more the Father's love is for us.

I remember so well just eight months ago Andrea and Daniel were going through such a quick transition and in a matter of four days they were holding these babies in their arms. It was through that situation that really turned my heart towards orphans and motherless children. I hope to someday adopt with my future wife whether or not we are able to have children of our own.

As I've told all of you who read my posts that I am looking forward to serving in Mexico this winter. As it turns out, God has shut that door, but opened up a new one for me at the same time. I was directed by some friends of mine to contact Bobby Hile who is serving in South Africa. He is involved in a church plant there, an AIDS orphanage and is also works in media production. When I contacted him he was immediately excited to have me come down and work with him. I can't wait to see what comes of this while we move forward with this particular journey. Please pray with me that God will prepare my heart for this awesome experience and that I will be able to show Christ's love to the people and children of Durban, South Africa. I also need to raise support very quickly. I know God will provide if He wants me to be there, but I would be so greatful if you kept that in your prayers as well!! Thanks friends.

back to reality

What an adventure! Not only was the weather, food, entertainment, Key West, Playa Del Carma, people, food, dancing, casino, Miami Beach, food, and everything else unbelievably awesome, but the guys I went with were even better. There were 17 of us there for Brian Bradford's bachelor party. I think I knew five of them before we left, but by the time the cruise and road trip were over, I had made some incredible bonds with some incredible guys. Everyone on this trip added their own individual personality and I can honestly say that if we all did this again and even one guy wasn't able to be there something would definately be missing.

It was cool to see that all of the cruise workers were from different countries and were all so friendly. All the guests were very nice as well. You could just walk up to anyone and start a conversation like they were your neighbor that you see every day. Everyone had a different story and different experiences. By about the third day we were all as popular as rock stars because of the talent show that we all performed in. People would say: " hey it's the bachelor party guys!" It was great. This was definately the best vacation that I've ever had and I'm so glad I went. I didn't want it to be over.

I felt like I was in college again surrounded by all these crazy guys playing pranks on each other and just hanging out and sharing thoughts, struggles, and dreams with each other. I think 10 out of the 17 guys there were pastors of some sort and I often thought while we were together how awesome it would be to all be in ministry together. And then I had the thought that we already are. We all have the same passion for Christ and we all want to see the lost be reached. We are all doing this in different churches in different states, but with a common thread. What an awesome trip!!