Live Life

Church this morning was awesome as usual! This morning 21 people were baptized! If that's not awesome I don't know what is. Dad's, Mom's, Son's and Daughter's lives were radically changed forever because of the Amazingly Barbaric Love of God. Who have YOU talked to about Christ recently? Who are YOU intentionally building relationships with? YOU and I have this life to live, I know I do not want to waste it, do you? In the message this morning Pastor quoted Marcus Aurelius and it hit me like a MACK TRUCK the quote was this "It is not death that a man should fear, but he should fear never beginning to live." and I was reminded of a quote I read in Blue Like Jazz "Dying for something is easier because it is associated with glory, but living for something is hard to do." Think about these quotes, evaluate your life and see if your truly living the life God has intended for you. O and soon I'll quote about my adventure yesterday at the UCF football game. Have a good rest of the night.

adios

summary....

Wow I feel like I haven't blogged in forever! O wait..... that's because I haven't! Sorry I went out of town for Thanksgiving and had limited Internet access, and have been kind of busy since I got back on Saturday evening. Anyways I thought I would blog about everything that's been going on. First off Thanksgiving was GREAT this year, I got the opportunity to go to Beaumont,TX with Kayleigh's family and it's always great spending quality time with Kayleigh of course! But it is also awesome getting to hang with the Bledsoe's! Plus Texas is a really cool state (I'm still deciding if it's somewhere I would like to live someday). Sunday morning was Amazing! I absolutely love C3 Sunday morning was just well... REFRESHING! You can check out Pastor Byron and Pastor Barry's blogs, b/c I think they summarize the morning better than I could. But it's so cool how God works. While in Texas I kept up on my blog reading (even though I wasn't contributing) and loved reading all the Thanksgiving blogs about things people where thankful for. But I started to think about how lucky I was! How lucky I am to have the privilege to be able to call Kayleigh my girlfriend! To be able to hang out with Pastor Byron and Mrs. Angie, THANK YOU so much! You guy's will never know the level of impact that both of you have had on my life! You have shown me how to truly love God and love others, and as Mrs. Angie says: LOVE WINS! So thankful for a GREAT church staff,Pastor Byron, Darrell, Travis, Barry, and Josh have all impacted my life and taught me so many things, but I think the biggest thing I have learned is to always function with Integrity and all five of those men display this with everything they do! I am truly blessed and Incredibly Rich! Check out all of their blogs and You'll understand what I mean by Rich. The Awesome thing about everything that's going on at C3 right now is that... This is only the beginning! Can't wait to see whats to come!

barry

An Amazing Quote

This past Wed. night I went to the College Home Team, that I have not gone to since mid July.... (Sorry D LO) But it was AMAZING! I had forgotten how great it is to be around people who are like minded, and have a bible study. Currently the home team is going through the book "Blue Like Jazz" by Donald Miller. I remember when I went to Southeastern that this book was a HUGE deal! Not because it was good, but because ALMOST EVERYONE I talked to (including my professors) said that the book was WRONG, and a horrible view on what Christians should act and be like! So being the hard headed person I am (and trying to be somewhat of a rebel) I decided I would read the book. So I could see what I thought for myself. I LOVED IT! Now if you know me than you know that I HATE reading ANYTHING!!! But it was such an encouraging book, and a huge refreshment in my life. But anyways I've been back in Orlando now for about 9months and had pretty much forgotten about the book. Until Wed. Night at Home Team. Ironically we went through my favorite chapter in the Whole book! Its when Donald and his friends set up a "Confessional Booth" in the Courtyard of they University during the biggest campus party(basically). Except the "Confessional" was not for the students who were joining in on the party activities, but rather an opportunity for Donald and the rest of his Christian friends to APOLOGIZE for basically being hypocritical. Like he apologizes for not loving the students at the party, and not serving the community like he should have, and mainly for Christians in general who say that Rules and Regulations rather than a RELATIONSHIP are what Christianity is all about. Anyways if you have not read the book I strongly encourage you to do so! And pray that God will open your eyes and show you things. And finally I will leave you with what is probably my FAVORITE quote in the whole book:

"Dying for something is easy because it is associated with glory. But Living for something is the hard thing." -Donald Miller (Blue Like Jazz)

Don't Give up ever!

Mowing Thoughts...

Ok so I was on the mower for 6 hours today... It's funny all the thoughts that roll through your mind while your sitting still listening to an iPod, getting weird tan lines, watching the grass get shorter, and at the same time having it blow in your face, causing your allergies to go haywire!

First off, How much I miss Kayleigh! She has been at a camp since wed! I know, I know wed was only yesterday, but seems like it's been forever! Plus I wont get to see her till I pick her and ash up tomorrow at 11:30. Have you ever thought about how it's weird that one day you can be happy all by yourself, but all of a sudden you meet someone, and you cant figure out how you ever lived without them? I love Kayleigh so much! She is the most AMAZING girlfriend in the whole entire world! Miss you babe and cant wait to see you tomorrow night!

Second, why do I always forget to take my allergy medicine before I do lawn work?

Third, it's funny how many movie quotes you can think of sitting on a mower bored out of my mind! But whats more funny is me laughing hysterically at myself telling myself movie quotes on a mower by myself in the middle of a field. I'm sure its probably pretty amusing watching me laugh at myself also...

Fourth, I get tired of music sometimes! And honestly after 6 hours you miss being able to have conversations, so I downloaded some comedians so it seems as if I am having human interaction but it's not quite the same...

Fifth, I started thinking about how my thoughts on church have changed in the last few years! I remember when I first surrendered to the ministry, and how I thought being a pastor would be. I never thought that being a pastor would be hard until I went to Southeastern, and even more so actually after I moved back to Orlando, I realized what the ministry of being a pastor was all about. Over the past 8 months I have learned so much about what ministry is all about. You see, I used to think it was just a walk in the park, a few letters and phone calls a week, maybe a hospital visit or two, and a few days of studying for your sermon whether it be Wed night for Youth or Sunday for the congregation. Boy O' Boy was I wrong! Pastor Byron, Barry, Darrell, and Travis all have shown me what REAL ministry is like! And also how to deal with the hard times, and the stupid pharisees that try and stop what God is doing, All because it's not what "they" like or what "they" think should be happening in "their" church. First off it is not "their" church its God's and the last time I checked we cared what God thinks and what God wants us to do not the pharisees!

But the thing I have had the hardest time dealing with is how Grown men and women who call themselves Christians have acted because they didn't like something... And instead of handling it biblically or even trying to talk to someone on staff about their problems with them, They decide to act like a 12yr olds and talk to their other 12yr old friends, who do not even posses the maturity to tell them that they are not handling it the right way either! But aside from all of that is the fact that I hate it for their children, who have no control over the fact that their parents are idiots! Some of them may never want to go to church again, or maybe even make up their minds about church, just because they've watched and listened to their parents rip it apart! Not only have their parents riped apart brothers in sisters in Christ and placed a HUGE wedge of anger between one another but they have also instilled a virtue of Hate and a attitude of "if you do not do it the way I want then I will do everything in my power to stop it" Where does that come from? I think it comes from a very Selfish perspective and attitude!

You know what bewilders me is the fact that so many have invested so much time in trying to stop what our church is doing, instead of investing that time in their kids and teaching them how real men and women who function in integrity act! Or better yet investing their time in reaching lost people. I had a conversation with two friends today about that, how we as Christians can loose sight of what is really important. Which is growing my own relationship with God more and more, and helping other people grow and begin a relationship with God. So often I think Christians get caught up in traditions, systems, and "their" way of doing things that we forget and loose sight of our First Love, and the reason we are here on earth!

But honestly I'm so glad that I have been able to see how REAL MEN OF GOD, act and respond to this! Thank you to the pharisees for showing me your backside, because I've learned so well how to deal with people like you, and also you have helped me with being able to grow in my relationship with God, because I honestly believe praying for pharisees is one of the greatest things in the world, because I no longer have to worry about it anymore, just allow God to deal with you! And to the pastors at C3 Thank You for functioning in integrity, Loving God more then anything else, and showing me how to pursue what God is revealing to you, and no matter what the cost Choosing to Fight for Love!

I am now excited about ministry more than ever, because I get the awesome privilege of serving under and learning from the GREATEST leaders in the whole world! Plus I get to be apart of the most AMAZING church in the whole entire world! I'm willing to step up and do whatever it takes to Fight for Love and to reach a lost and dying world for Christ. Are You?

Phor gun mai

Another AMAZING Sunday...sorry its Tuesday now....

Sorry it has been so long since my last blog, but honestly I have been so tired recently that I usually fall asleep waiting for my computer to boot up... Having a blackberry now, I would just rather use it for my browsing rather than waiting for my computer to boot. But, typing on it is pretty much the most annoying thing ever, not so much texting, but trying to write a blog with it would just put me in a really bad mood. I mean small buttons and FAT fingers do not work well with one another. But I wanted to just share my thoughts on this past Sunday. First off Riverdale lead us in worship, and the third song, which was a mixture of "Mighty to Save and The Stand" I felt goosebumps come down my neck and on my arms and then found myself very emotional. It encourages my heart so much, to be able to watch the amazing people of C3 Worship! Being in the sound booth in the back I get to crowd watch, and Believe me I count it a privilege every week! Something about watching other brother's and sister's in Christ Worshiping God, is just an amazing thing to witness. Plus it just's more and more confirms that the heart and passion for the vision our leadership team has, is nothing except EXACTLY what God has planned! I love the fact that we don't have "perfect Christians" any more! Because they do not and will not ever exist again! Jesus was the ONLY one! And being around people who are fake and think they can be "PC's" is just frustrating! I had an awesome conversation today with a Mentor/friend of mine, and just got to explain how I felt about the staff and the vision of our church. I thank God on a regular basis for our Staff at C3 the 4 guys in the office have had the LARGEST amount of influence in my life. I love and respect all 4 of these Godly men! And someday hope to learn enough from them that I can serve and invest in other people just like they have in so many. Thank You for your sacrifices, and thank you so much for teaching me what a True MAN of God looks, and act's like. You guys are amazing and I count it such an Amazing blessing to be able to learn from you and work with you everyday. Second, Pastor preached an amazing message! I don't know if it is because a lot of his analogies are comparisons between Christianity and football, but atleast thats why I think i understand it so well! Then closed out the morning with a little more worship. I love C3 church, I feel so at home as soon as i walk in the doors. But i have to be honest I am so stinkin excited about the opportunity that we will have when we're able to move to the theaters the UN=churched people we will be able to reach will be amazing. Then I had a great lunch (sonny's) with Kayleigh and friends, and a small Sunday nap, then back to church for Crave. Riverdale lead worship at Crave, also amazing! Just like in the morning, but what really struck me was how Travis and Jon J both spoke together. WOW is pretty much how to sum up their lesson! You guys did an awesome job! But my eyelids keep trying to close on me so I think that is my clue for me to call it a night.

Phor gun mai

The Rumble in the Jungle

Ok You have to watch the whole video before you read the blog. Please watch the whole thing through, it is not gruesome I Promise!



Ok so after watching the video I could'nt help but compare it to my daily walk with Christ. First the verse "But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was delivered from the lion's mouth." 2 Tim. 4:17 Sometimes as a Christian you can just be walking along thinking life is great. But just then out of no where satan jumps in and tries to take you down. I sympathized with the calf, and thought about how it was a perfect example of a believer in Christ, because as satan is attacking you from one direction, he can send some demons to attack you from the other side, and it feels like your in the middle of spiritual tug-of-war! Which after a while just drains all you have... your tired, worn out, and frustrated, you don't know how you will make any longer. And it's right about that point, right when your ready to give up. That God step's in, because "my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,my shield and the horn of my salvation. He is my stronghold, my refuge and my Savior—from violent men you save me." 2 Sam. 22:3 When the herd of water buffalo come back for the calf, I thought it was an AMAZING discription of the Love of Christ, and those who fallow Him. Because they came right along side the calf, fought off the lions. Then welcomed it back into the herd. Because that "ONE" life was worth fighting for! And I know that's how it is for me, my closest friends, and most definitely my church. Plus without a doubt, would do whatever it takes to protect "ONE". Even if it means hookin the lions and throwing them off. Because "ONE MORE LIFE" is worth everything to me! So you know what? bring on the lions, crocs, and bears "OH MY" because we'll be ready, I'll be ready! 1 Peter 5:8 says "Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." So stand strong, know God is right there, and remember sometimes he has to let somethings happen to you so that you can learn and grow from them. But He's ALWAYS got your back and will never let more than you can handle happen. I'll leave you with just one question... What's one life worth to you?

Phor gun mai