Strive for excellence. Stop at nothing less.

It has been a busy month. I finished finals with a decent amount of sleep and came out pretty good grade-wise. After a little bit of stress I signed a lease to live with Seth Wheeler and Scott Fritzsche in College Station at school next year. But oh goodness, doesn’t that seem like so far away. Since School got out I have traveled 1,500 miles and spent 30 hours and 30 minutes in the car on road trips! I GOT to go see my grandmother for mothers day with my family and then help Anna move from Augusta to Statesboro. These trips were followed up by four days in St. Simons with Mom, Anna Ryan, Jack, and Gaga! A few graduations in there and before I knew it, 1500 miles had gone bye! It has been so good to relax and spend time with my family and friends though!

I got to spend a few days with Jared and watch him and many others gradaute. I mention this because graduation is a significant accomplishment in life. It is a step of self-improvement. i began to think about graduation; thoughts strayed to my graduation last year, kids graduating this year, and other randoms thoughts that often come to mind during this time of year. The more I evaluated the idea of significant times in our lives, such as graduation, my thoughts focused on self-improvement. I tried to honestly evaluate my life when I graduated high school a year ago. This included my personality, habits, friends, and other things. These thoughts led to the ultimate question, am i growing mentally? Am i healthier?  Am I wiser? Am I more mature? Well, these are difficult things to judge from my own perspective. But the more I think about it, the real key is not to focus on wether or not i am way smarter, healthier, mature or whatever it is; the ket is to ask myself if I  am constantly STRIVING and purposely pursuing self-improvement. I want to know more. I want to be stronger. I want to be wiser. I want to be a better friend. I want to be more mature.

I often look around and notice that the Christian faith is full of stagnant people. People who are satisfied to be saved from hell, understand the basics of the gospel and let that be the extent of their faith. I have been convicted lately of not pursuing self-improvement like I should be. I believe as Christ Followers we are called to desire spiritual growth. We are called to be the best we can be. I am called to keep my body in the best physical shape I can. It is discouraging to see how stagnant we can be and content with imperfections and flaws in our lives. Sometimes it is even worse, we choose not to even acknowledge the flaws in our lives, much less attempt to fix them. I just want to encourage all of you to BE THE BEST YOU CAN BE in every sense of life. Don’t settle for mediocre grades, mediocre spiritual aptitude, mediocre health. It is not just harmful to you, but it is SIN. Maybe something we view as a respectable sin, but nonetheless, it is a sin. It is scary how often we do not even recognize sin like this in our lives. I am not saying less than perfection is sin, because that is unrealistic and unbiblical. I am just asking everyone to follow the scriptures command to be the best you can be in every area of life. We have to quit brushing apathy off as no big deal, take leaderships, take responsibility, and be pro-active towards being better in everything we can.

Aside from it being the right thing to do and a step toward reducing sin in our lives, imagine what the result of this could be. A generation that is striving for excellence. A group of people that want to be the BEST they can be and master as many subjects as they possibly can. Imagine a group that is no longer content to be obese and ignorant, but informed in multiple topics and responsible to take care of their bodies and property. Now imagine these healthy, informed, wise people being Christians and using these talents to positively impact the world that so badly needs Christ. It open opportunity to affect the business world, athletic world, political world, social world, and reach the gospel to everyone we can. I understand this seems pretty drastic and far fetched, but when you shrink it back down to the simple task of every Christ Follower being the best they can be at everything they can, it seems doable. A few places to start, things that I am working on personally:

1) Turn off the tv and read a book. ( even an article on the internet, or if you must watch tv, watch the new or educational stuff. )

2) Diet! Eat better. Exercise more.

3) Set Goals! Set a goal for your GPA or weight, and DONT SETTLE for less. (find accountability or partnership if you need to)

Work on your own small goals or ways to better yourself, we all need it! I know i especially do! I implore you, hop off facebook, hop off the sofa, hop off whatever it is, and lets better our selves in a journey for self-improvement, then use that to reach the world with Christ. I pray God enables me to do this. Please pray for me to not be satisfied with mediocre, but pursue excellence.

Also, please pray for me as i head to Camp Winshape tomorrow! I will be with second graders until July 30th and will not have much access to my phone or finternet ( may not blog for a little while). I am so excited about sharing Christ with second graders and cannot wait for my own growth as I learn from them as well as the other staff. Thanks so much to whoever still reads this!

Battles of the Flesh

Well, one more final and I have completed my freshman year of college! I finish Thursday after my Political Science exam from 8-10 ( feel free to pray). Goodness, how time flies. I went to the GISA state track meet this past weekend with my high school to help out and encourage the guys. Just this time last year i was there and getting ready to graduate from high school. It is interesting to look at previous years and evaluate how times passes. It is this interesting feeling in your gut that makes you miss the past, become thankful for the present, and hopeful for the future. Really all that we can do is learn to appreciate what we are going through RIGHT NOW. Learn to appreciate life in the present to its fullest extent before it something we look back on and wish we could re-live. This specifically makes me think of seniors in high school; I look around facebook and see status “Can’t wait to get out of here” or maybe ” I am so over high school” I encourage seniors, as well as everyone to enjoy life in its present, and don’t wish your life away. Enjoy those long days in the hallways filled with friends and familiar faces seniors. Enjoy practice and the PRIVILEGE of being able to compete. Parents, enjoy that two year old, even though they are temper-mental, before they grow up. Enjoy the middle schooler, or high schooler that has to have it their way, before they graduate and are gone. Or maybe it is that young married couple, enjoy each other before the house is filled with kids and games and homework! To my parents, enjoy being together and learning to have joyful times without the kids. Enjoy the clean house before grandchildren are running around everywhere. For me, it is learning to enjoy school and being away from home. I miss it so much, but it is a special time in life; as are all of these times and we need to learn how to appreciate them to get the maximum amount of pleasure from them. I urge you, enjoy NOW, and don’t wish away your lives.

Something the Lord has shown me recently and convicted me about it being grateful.I complain so much more than I ever should. It is finals time and I hear so many complaints about studying, grades, and how hard school is. Americans in general do not understand the extent of blessings in their lifestyle. So much to be grateful for, yet we complain so much. God has convicted me, and shown me to be grateful for those exams. I GET the opportunity to better myself ( which Christ tells us to do) by going to college and learning more. A lot of people never even get that opportunity. We complain about money, food, cars, phones, shoes, tribulations, EVERYTHING. It is exhausting as I look around the world and hear all these complaints. Out tribulation are often NOTHING compared to what some deal with; not to mention the Lord tells us to REJOICE in our trials and tribulations. I say all this to encourage you to be grateful and not complain, we have so much to be grateful for and I wish we would recognize that instead of constantly complaining about what we don’t have. I cannot even begin to understand the devastation in Tuscaloosa. My family is there and I am so grateful they were not harmed, but my heart hurts when I begin to think about the deaths and destruction the town suffered. Kristian Stanfill briefly discusses the tragedy, he explains that in life we look horizontally and see the destruction and problems. The reason we complain so much is because we look horizontally too much and see everything wrong, rather than vertically to see what we should be grateful for. We compare ourselves to each other to see what we don’t have or we compare ourselves to each other to see how good we are, and how we “don’t sin as much as that guy.” We HAVE to start comparing ourselves to Christ ONLY and looking vertically.

Something else I am struggling with is parts of the Christian community. Specifically in regards to the way we feel. I have been frustrated lately with non-biblical things that people do sometimes in order to feel “extra spiritual” I feel like an example of this might be someone not dating because “God told them it wasn’t right.” I feel like that is not biblical. Although God leads us to make wise decisions and expects us to use our minds to think through things, that statement seems extreme. That is just the best example I could imagine; no relation to my life. I am just thinking through these things and my heart is that we as Christians become convicted and live based on biblical standards, rather than our emotion that makes us FEEL like  a better Christian. This is just something I have been increasingly aware of lately and am praying for discernment. I pray to become balanced in spirit and in Truth and live biblically.

I am SOOO encouraged by comments and yall reading this! Glad to know someone is interested! please continue to do so!

“No guilt of life no fear in death!”

Goodness it has been a while! Sorry for the delay, unfortunately life does not slow down for blog time. Quick update on my life; i have been so busy with school, trying to keep the GPA up and finish my freshman year strong. I have been involved with the Big Brother Big Sister program and spending time investing in a fourteen year old who has had quite the life. I have been playing intramural softball and spending some time in the gym trying to stay in shape. I have been helping with DPK (Discovery Point Kids) which is the children’s program at Crosspointe church on Sunday Morning! Teaching second through fifth graders has been such a blessing and I think I learn just as much as they do from it. I am getting ready for Winshape Camps this summer with paper work as well as preparing my heart emotionally to spend ten weeks with second graders in the woods and sharing the great love of Jesus Christ with them. On top of all that, I have been looking for an apartment and trying to nail down my living situation for my sophomore year at VSU as well as how to pay for it. The Howard family ( Mom and Dad) are moving the family home to Fairhope, Alabama. Planning to move by the end of May is another interesting curve that has been thrown into my life. Dad received a job to be the headmaster at a private school there and he is so excited about it. God’s hand is clearly in the transition and I cannot wait to see what he has in store; oh and it doesn’t hurt that the house will be about twenty minutes away from the beach!

I want to share with those of you who still actually read this what God has done in my life lately. ABR (August Burns Red) has a song that declares “As the days go by its getting harder to hold my head up high” and the more I live the more I realize just how sinful I am. I am noticing my sin, as well as noticing how sinful the world that we live in is becoming. Romans 3:12 tell us there is none that are good, no NOT ONE. Well, the more I live the more I sin. Disheartening isn’t it? I thought this at first also, but then I began to realize I have always been sinful, i am just noticing it more now. God has made me aware of my sin and I am so thankful for that. My sin BOTHERS ME! Isn’t that such a beautiful thing? My dad paraphrased Charles Spurgeon to me and it went something to the affect of a sinners salvation is one from hell, but a true believers salvation is one from sin. Do you use the death of Jesus as a ticket out of Hell? Or do you use his precious blood to escape our many sins that SHOULD bother us. Well, the more I notice my sin the more encouraged I become, because I am learning many things through this new realization. The first is that I have found a salvation from sin, my sin bothers me and I depend on Jesus to rescue me from that sin; and that is true christianity. The second thing I am learning is that Jesus loves me despite my sin. I think we often hide in the closet from God like the kid who knew he was going to be in trouble. We act like we have to earn God’s love. Because of this we sometimes stray from God because we feel undeserving and maybe even embarrassed. It is essential that we recognize the seriousness of our sin, but we also must recognize our Saviors glorious unconditional love for us despite that sin. Imagining someone to wholly love me despite all my sins and failures is the most encouraging thing I can think of. If that isn’t somewhat emotionally moving then something is wrong. MY SAVIOR LOVES ME DESPITE my everyday sins and pathetic attempts to find happiness apart from Him.

A conviction I have dealt with lately hit me hard this past Sunday Morning. I was teaching the Crosspointe kids about the Pentecost and great commission. As I was speaking I keyed in on our purpose for being here, to make disciples. I asked the kids if they would enjoy planning a zoo trip. I followed this question by letting them know once we got there we would blindfold everyone and tie their hands so they couldn’t see or pet the animals. Wouldn’t that be a silly trip? How is it that everyone realizes how silly going to the zoo blindfolded would be, yet we fail to recognize on a DAILY basis that we are constantly making zoo trips blindfolded. Just like the purpose of visiting the zoo is to see the animals our purpose for being here on earth is to witness and make disciples. Why don’t we notice the silliness in living everyday with such a little desire to fulfill that purpose? We are wasting our time on earth gathering and planning petty materials and events while ignoring the purpose of living that Christ has set before us. Shame on me for going days at a time without sharing the beautiful gospel to those who desperately need it. Shame on me for being selfish and thinking more about my life and getting what I want then sharing the Gospel; for being too scared about being judged or what people think and withholding from people the very thing I am here to tell them about. Shame on all of us. I thank God for his grace in showing me this sin and his forgiveness and ability to love me regardless, yet I am convinced to do better, as should we all.

I’ve really enjoyed this hymn lately. Owl City did a cover of it which is beautiful. Check it out!

In Christ alone my hope is found
He is my light, my strength, my song
This Cornerstone, this solid ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm
What heights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease
My Comforter, my All in All
Here in the love of Christ I stand

In Christ alone, who took on flesh
Fullness of God in helpless babe
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones He came to save
‘Til on that cross as Jesus died
The wrath of God was satisfied
For every sin on Him was laid
Here in the death of Christ I live

There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave He rose again
And as He stands in victory
Sin’s curse has lost its grip on me
For I am His and He is mine
Bought with the precious blood of Christ

No guilt of life, no fear in death
This is the power of Christ in me
From life’s first cry to final breath
Jesus commands my destiny
No power of hell, no scheme of man
Can ever pluck me from His hand
’til He returns or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ I’ll stand

IM BACK!

Hey! Sorry it has been so long since I last updated. Life has been nonstop! To catch you up on my life, I am having a good semester. I am taking 14 hours and they are keeping me busy. I am playing intramural softball and football, and my fair share of ultimate frisbee! I have been trying to workout more this semester which has been really good and kept me feeling healthy. This semester has been very good. I have learned a lot and am really getting settled in. It is nice to say that Valdosta feels a lot more like home now. I have met some incredible people and am continuing to build relationships. I have been doing some stuff with Campus Outreach as well as getting more involved with Crosspoint Church. I have really enjoyed the church and am finally being fed the truth I have been craving for so long. I applied for Winshape Boys Camp at Berry College in Rome Georgia for the summer. I found out last week that I got the job and will spend my summer ministering to 2nd-4th grade boys as well as growing myself! I am involved in the Big Brother program in Valdosta. Basically it matches me up with a kid that comes from a bad home and allows me to be his big brother for a while and just hang out. I meet my 14 year old little brother this Friday and pray God will use me to positively affect his life.

 

I’d like to share a few thoughts with you from a book I have been reading. The name of the book is ‘Just Do Something’ by Kevin DeYoung. It has been a really good beneficial read for me. It is all about God’s will and making decisions in our lives. It is obviously a crucial time in my life as I make many decisions that will affect me forever such as career, wife, and so many more things. The book discusses the modern misconception that God expects us to discover every answer before making decisions. We expect him to send us a clear answer or divine sign before we ever make a decision in life, when in reality we aren’t always supposed to know God’s plan before we make a decision. He does lead us to make wise decision and to love him, but we focus too much on non-moral decisions. I have been convicted lately about focusing too much on non-spiritual decision rather than the questions I need to be focusing on. The book uses the example of someone focusing too much on whether they should be a doctor or a lawyer, when in reality we should be focusing on how we can serve God and pursue him NO MATTER whether we are a lawyer OR a doctor.  I have been comforted to know that as long as I am pursuing God and focusing on living for him wether I am a doctor or a teacher or whatever I am will be an acceptable decision. I have come to realize that I can NOT MISS God’s will for my life. We too often think that one non-moral decision will cause us to miss God’s will, when in reality He has already decided His will for our life and He will not let us miss it. I just encourage you all to focus in Loving God and living justly and Holy, rather than stressing on non-moral decisions.

Pray for me to continue to be an example and live my faith out loud. I have been really encouraged lately to be more verbal and open with my faith and it has already reaped so many benefits this week. I found myself being too passive in the past when there are so many opportunities to introduce lost people to my wonderful Jesus. The idea of Jesus telling people that it is the sick that need a doctor, not the healthy, has really been on my heart. I am passionate about reaching the the sick and showing them my Jesus. It seems so sad to me that SOO many people right now are going to Hell, and it seems more sad that so many Christians don’t care enough to reach out to them. Pray that I have patience in a few situations in my life right now and am wholly seeking God before anything else.

Thanks so much to all of you that have been faithful to read and pray for me as I grow and learn!

 

 

It Is Well With My Soul

Jesus is awesome. We think a lot of things today are ‘awesome’ such as movies, music, cars, friends, games, clothes but we are so very wrong. JESUS IS AWESOME. Just think about that.

Sometimes I grow weary of americanized christianity, and I grow even more weary when I realize I’m part of the problem. For some reason we like to water down truth and Jesus. The problem is nothing can get the fact that contentment on earth is impossible without Jesus through our thick skulls. I was thinking this morning about one of my favorite hymns, “It is well with my soul.” My first thought was that it was one of my memaw’s favorite hymn’s. I miss her very much and it makes me so sad that i cant see her anymore. But She gets to be with Jesus right now with a perfect body and I can’t wait to see her running around one day. My Second thought was how peaceful and beautiful the hymn is. It makes me sad to think about songs in a lot of churches today and how meaningless and shallow the lyrics seem when compared to the depth of some great hymns.”Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come, Let this blest assurance control,That Christ has regarded my helpless estate, And hath shed His own blood for my soul” Isn’t it so precious that the author of this hymn can lose everything in his life, yet be able to sit there and say because of the beautiful love of Christ, It is well with my soul. Well I want you to think about it, is it well with YOUR soul? Through the meaningless, stupid drama and mishapp’s of our daily lives..is it well with your soul? I mean to me that is something I’ve learned to cling to. As tears roll down my face right now because sometimes life can be hard, I find  tearful joy in the understanding of Christ’s love and know that It is well with my soul.

“”Friendship is one of the sweetest joys of life. Many might have failed beneath the bitterness of their trial had they not found a friend. “

I got to spend some time with a really awesome friend this week that God placed in my life. It is so refreshing to see people in a romance with Jesus, not a religion, not an obligation, but a romance. I’ve been so encouraged by this friend and their willingness to listen and relate and have fun! I was thinking about a quote my dad told me one time by Charles Spurgeon. I could not find the exact quote but it is something among the lines of ” a Sinner’s salvation is one from hell, but a true Christians salvation is one from sin.” We should’t be using religion to escape hell when our life comes to an end. But as Christians we should HATE sin. It should grieve us and bother us. We should be desperate to get away, not from hell, but from sin. By God’s grace and the people he has places in my life I’m starting to learn the meaning of my romance with Jesus and personal relationship he wants with me.

Something so precious to me is that i mess up SO much, but I’m learning I don’t have to hide in the closet like a child who knows they have done wrong. God knows I messed up, and loves me regardless. We don’t understand how special that is. We SIN A LOT, and God still WANTS to have a romance with us. I just love that!

I hope you all have a wonderful week! I still find comfort that God has already written my love story and I just can’t wait to discover the beautiful young lady He has made for me!

Different Isn’t Always Bad

Well, I got back to Valdosta safely today. The break was good, GREAT to be with my family but it is nice to be back. Got to work a lot and spend a lot on a speeding ticket…OUCH!

Lately “living in the World but not of the World” has seemed increasingly impossible. It’s just discouraging to see so many close friends falter into the ways of the world. As well as to see myself mess up and falter into the worlds traps. In Crazy Love Loui Giglio points out that the early christians did not give themselves the name “christians” but the World gave it to them. This got me wondering..if I didn’t verbally pronounce i was a Christian, would the world be able to tell? Well I hope you think about that and weigh whether or not your actions portray your christianity like it should. I often feel like an alien in this world, and its very hard to get mocked for not doing things so many other do..and as difficult as it can be, its re-assuring that i feel like an alien, because Jesus tells us that we are supposed to!  We shouldn’t blend into the world with the movies and music we entertain ourselves with, or the things we do for fun on the weekends, OR on thursday night! The world today preaches so much that R movies are funny and sex is incredible. Drinking is just essential to the “college experience.” Be strong, im telling you that none of those things are true, and asking you to hold onto that even when everyone else is telling you they are. To those of you who sometimes feel as I do, I want you to envision something for me. Envision yourself after death, getting to stand in front of the Creator of EVERYTHING and hearing him tell you “Well done my good and faithful servant.” Isn’t that so neat to think about? Well I hope that is enough to keep you encouraged and to stay strong.

I also want to encourage you not to be discouraged when you do mess up and fall into the world. By all means be sorry, and repentant. But If you are a believer, you have to remember God still loves you when you mess it all up, and that makes the bond with our heavenly Father even stronger.

I was reminded this weekend AGAIN, of how wonderful my friends are. I specifically want to mention my good guy friends in high school. It was truly a blessing and HONOR to know all of you. It is so comforting to always have a core group to talk to. When the whole world is saying im a freak and not living it up. When people dissappoint me and make me feel even more like an alien, they are such a blessing to talk to. A group of guys that know how to have fun, enjoy each other, without living in the shadow of the world. I love you guys and I thank you for everything. I BEG you to stay the path and keep away from the world’s way. You are all such an encouragement to me and it means more than you know that I am not alone.

 

 

The more I think about being different, the more I feel confidence comes into play. It’s hard to be different and not always fit in. My family and friends have taught me how to be confident in myself and to be okay with not being like everyone else. Confidence has enabled me to know who I am and not be swayed by others opinion. It has kept me away from adapting to my surroundings too much. I openly admit, I DO CARE what people think about me. I want to be remembered well and thought highly of. I want to be an example of Christianity and look more like Jesus everyday. SO don’t get me wrong here, I care what people think…and you should, but don’t care so much that it changes who you are. It does amuse me to always hear “I don’t care what you think.” because lets be real, everyone cares a little! My goal is to be remembered as someone who lights up a room. I think most people have a positive or a negative affect on the people around them. I want to be remembered as someone who had a positive affect on lives. It’s just that dang sin nature and stupid boy in me that messes me up sometimes!

Stay encouraged to be different from the world, if you feel like an alien, ITS GOOD, if you blend in too much…maybe you need to re-evaluate things. Stay encouraged when you mess up and fall into the world, because you will, I know i do my fair share of messing up. Be gracious to others when they mess up, because we all do it. Enjoy your friends and stay close, friends can be everything! Who you are always with determines how you will act. Love you all!

Love God. Love People.

Hey everyone! Sorry it has been soo long since I last updated. I’ve been through finals, traveling, work, and all kinds of other things.  I am home now for Christmas and realizing now more than every how important family and friends are. I missed my family more than i realized and am so glad to be with them again. I realize already how much I enjoy my friends in Valdosta and my good friends from high school. It is weird that sometimes you have to experience change in order to realize things. I didn’t realize how much I enjoy my ‘family’ at Valdosta until I was away from them. I didn’t realize how much I missed my family until i was with them. I am now realizing how much i miss my friends in macon, since I can’t be with them over the holidays. But I love all these people and can’t wait to see them again. I appreciate them so much and it is so comforting to me as I look around and notice the people who love me and stick around with me, and will continue to do so. You are loved more than you know! I heard a sermon one time that talked about the importance of friendship in life. ITS HUGE!!! “It’s better to eat unhealthy ice cream with friends, then to eat healthy vegetables alone.” and this is so true. I encourage everyone…LOVE PEOPLE. John Piper always tells us “Love God. Love People.” Doing this i am convinced will produce success. My genuine goal is to love and care for people, to have a servants heart and focus on being a good, loving, genuine, loyal friend. That is my focus right now and i encourage you to do the same. The importance of good friends is under rated! Some of you have made an impact on my life more than you will ever know and I thank you so much.

It has been a LONG semester. Filled with lots of good and lots of bad. Last time I blogged I was struggling so much with some serious changes in my life, i appreciate the prayer from all of you and encouraging messages. Things are better, they still aren’t always easy. However, I sense God’s hands on the situation and i have already learned so much from the situation. I have learned things about relationships and how they should look, how they shouldn’t look and feel more prepared as I continue to search for the beautiful young lady that I know God has prepared for me. It is exciting to think God made someone to fit my personality and needs, very exciting! I think sometimes God takes things away to keep us from being complacent, and to remind us that he should be our source of happiness, NOTHING else will do..unfortunately we just forget that sometimes.

Persevere: For those who are going through struggles or those who eventually will ( this is everyone in case you didn’t pick up on that ) I implore you to persevere and be positive. It is so hard sometimes, but i KNOW God has a plan. Think of it as him teaching you a lesson. Sometimes He has to break your heart to do so. Be mindful and open eyed to what he is trying to teach you throughout the struggles, otherwise its a broken heart for no reason if you can’t learn from it right? I have learned so much and have made some very incredible new friends from my struggles and they know exactly who they all know exactly who they are ( back to the importance of friends again).

I guess that was a little scatter brained, but just a quick update on my life and word of encouragement that I hope you all could follow! Thanks so much for reading and caring!