I Wish Time Would Just Stop For A Day!

Have you ever thought to yourself, I wish time would just freeze and I could just rest & get some things done. I experienced this today! Well, it was the weirdest feeling, I was supposed to help my dad at the church today but he got caught up so I ended up working on school work throughout the morning and early afternoon. My parents were gone almost all day and night and I didn’t answer the phone, so I had very little to no human interaction. This is the first time that I can ever remember that I didn’t go outside the house except to just sit in the Jacuzzi. I have been organizing my life and playing catchup the past two weeks, so there were multiple times in my day where things just seemed in place. I stopped and asked myself, “What should I do" in the most nonchalant manner. And to all of those who have thought to yourselves, “I will get so much done on that day?” Bad news… I got about the same amount of work done, the pace just seemed a lot slower. Life wasn’t too busy, Life wasn’t too slow, there was still a lot that could be done, but life just was.

What a different day!

Spiritual Goals

1. Help others find & achieve life goals
2. Create Community where ever I am at
3. Work on becoming more Generous
4. Write a Personal Book
5. Develop or enhance an entire church ministry
6. Study other Religions core beliefs
7. Attend a charismatic/expressive church semi-regularly in order to understand better what I believe and compare it’s strengths and weaknesses with the Wesleyan church
8. Realistic disciplines- break bad habits, exercise, & devotions!

Disclaimer: My goals are not for self-pride or accomplishment, but to focus on the things i find important, enjoyable, and worth prioritizing so that I may see, know, & enjoy God to the Fullest.)
and with the hope that others might help accomplish these dreams!

Dreams

I don't know if these will ever happen for sure, but no hurt in dreaming

• Run Across the US
• Skydive over the ocean into a wave that I surfing with the surfboard attached to my feet
• Get barreled surfing
• Write a book
• Dunk in the middle of a b-ball game
• Go through Focus on the Family intro
• Complete Dave Ridell’s Counseling in New Zealand
• Attend an Eldredge Conference

Disclaimer: My goals are not for self-pride or accomplishment, but to focus on the things i find important, enjoyable, and worth prioritizing so that I may see, know, & enjoy God to the Fullest.)
and with the hope that others might help accomplish these dreams!

Personal Growth Goals

1. Look for a way to Memorize names better
2. Finish my Master’s
3. Take a yearly retreat with God.
4. Get married before I’m 30
5. Be debt free earlier rather than later in life!
6. Memorize a book of the Bible (ie. James) (there's something so familiar and refreshing about repeating a chunk of Scripture and knowing it well)

Disclaimer: My goals are not for self-pride or accomplishment, but to focus on the things i find important, enjoyable, and worth prioritizing so that I may see, know, & enjoy God to the Fullest.)
and with the hope that others might help accomplish these dreams!

Fun Goals

The Purpose of these posts... to dream & find people who have at least one common goal and help each other accomplish those goals=]

1. Learn how to whistle loud with Fingers
2. Learn a full Michael Jackson Dance
3. Learn how to solve a Rubik's cube
4. Learn to Swing Dance
5. Learn more about constellations & the stars
6. Go to Duke vs. NC basketball game with Mike Muniz
7. Learn Tears of Heaven by Eric Clapton on the guitar
8. Learn more rifts on the Bass
9. Be on game show (American Gladiator/Deal or no Deal/Price is Right, etc.)
10. Learn to Break Dance
11. Complete a handstand for longer than a minute
12. Get Michael Jordan's Autograph
13. Be serenaded to Sleep

(Disclaimer: My goals are not for self-pride or accomplishment, but to focus on the things i find important, enjoyable, and worth prioritizing so that I may see, know, & enjoy God to the Fullest.)

Goals before i leave for New Zealand

1. Raise Support to Leave by May (1/3 of the way there)
2. Organize so that friends can come visit, live, and join me in NZ
3. Have a good grasp on Liberty online
4. Consolidate to one good guitar that I trust the sound and pickup
5. Rewrite and record a cd of songs I have written
6. Finish rough drafts of 2 small books I want to write.
7. Connect with friends and family before I leave
8. Have a flexible yet clear plan to work towards being debt free
9. Have a fairly consistent weekly schedule with calendar, to do’s, & time alone with God

(Disclaimer: My goals are not for self-pride or accomplishment, but to focus on the things i find important, enjoyable, and worth prioritizing so that I may see, know, & enjoy God to the Fullest.)

Travel Goals

1. Surf South Africa
2. Backpack/travel Europe
3. Marvel at the Roman Coliseum
4. Dance with a lady underneath the Eiffel Tower
5. Frolic through the grassy Austrian Hills
6. Understand Jewish culture in Israel
7. Hug a lion in Africa
8. Play bagpipes & visit Joe Simpson in Scotland
9. Go to Hillsong Conference in Sydney and visit Terry in Perth, Australia
10. See the Northern lights in Alaska
11. Ride an Elephant in Thailand
12. Waddle with the Penguins in Antarctica
13. Surf and shark dive in Hawaii
14. Bungee jump in New Zealand
15. Go to a broadway show in New York (Stomp, Lion King, Wicked or Les Miserables)
16. Spend time at Disney world and the beach in Florida

(I added adjectives & activities to each place to make them more interesting... You like that?!?)

(Disclaimer: My goals are not for self-pride or accomplishment, but to focus on the things i find important, enjoyable, and worth prioritizing so that I may see, know, & enjoy God to the Fullest.)

Life in P-Town (Plymouth, IN)

It is COLD here!!!I have been writing down a lot of goals lately so this whole next week will be dedicated to different Goals i have made. I hope you enjoy.
(Disclaimer: My goals are not for self-pride or accomplishment, but to focus on the things i find important and worth prioritizing; ie. Spiritual Goals, Life Goals, Fun Goals, Goals before i leave for New Zealand, Goals in New Zealand, etc.)
I started classes up online for my Master's of Divinity through Liberty University
I am also looking to work part-time at the new Gym in town called the Life Plex. This would be a great outlet with people and working out!
This poster is the most mezmorizing picture ever to me as a surfer.
I seriously stare at it daily wishing i was standing in this wave!!!
Good times, Good times
My first fun list is below!

Do you watch yourself enough? List!!!

Do you know random things about the way you function?
My answer follows the question

1. Toilet paper roll over or under? Definitely Over
2. Do you lean to the left or right when you drink out of sink? Left
3. Leave/Enter the Shower in front(showerhead side) of curtain or back? Front
4. Drive with left or right hand on the wheel? Left (so right can change radio)
5. When walking on stairs do you step first with your left or right foot? Left
6. Which eye has better vision? Right
7. Which ear hears better? Left
8. Which hand do you wipe sweat off with? Left hand
9. Which Side do you Sleep more comfortably on? Facing Left
10. Which Sock do you put on first? Right

God is at work in Africa!!!

I don't need to hear stats. I don't need to see it for myself!
I have heard it for myself from too many friends i trust!!!
Ask Amy Morris
Ask Brock Bruce
Ask Dan Eggenschwiler
Ask Tess Scholz
Ask Chris Maybury
and Ask many others...
Everyone comes back saying they experienced God in a different way. God is working miracles, His truth is being proclaimed, and His presence is manifested their in some of the most amazing ways that aren't as common or experienced as often in America or many other places for that matter!

Why is This?
I will not claim to have such a straight answer to such a big question.
Maybe a lack of desperation in our lives
Maybe a heightened awareness and belief in the spiritual world
Maybe a different faith
Maybe it's just how God chose it
All i know is that whatever the habitants of Africa are teaching about God
whatever it is they are radiating
it is catching on to friends close to my heart
and i want some of it

The tactics may make us a little uneasy
They may not be as controlled as we want
They may not be as defined as our intellect wants
but it is definitely God at work
so count me in!

Do you know how big God is?

I just watched a sermon by Louie Giglio called IndescribableI felt so small in comparison to the universe. The earth in the Milky Galaxy is just one of many galaxies in the universe and that is an understatement.

I guess all that to say i feel empowered! When i really see the magnitude of God and the fireball that is the sun, i can't help but smirk at my worry in this life. This God...

This Powerful, God of the Universe, which is my friend, is creating stars every second while i type on my computer. He could literally send a star into the earth that could destroy the world but probably would be a very small event in universal terms.
Ha. When i realize the power of God, my problems already seem taken care of! Did i really question whether God was big enough!

He has got it under control.

I will sleep good tonight.

(This is one of those lessons and revelation moments that i wish i could keep ever before me but is so easily to lose perspective of over time)

James 1 NKJV

My friends in Holland are Studying James 1 tonight so i decided to add my two cents:
I read it in the New Kings James Version and enjoyed the warning.

Catching up with Kevin Brock

2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials
"Fall Into"- It's almost like it is saying when you end up getting yourself into trouble (which is inevitable), take joy in the fact that you will grow. I find it interesting that it puts the responsibility on you, but tells you to not blame yourself.... Enjoy the Ride!

But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.
"Let Patience..."- It's almost as if it is telling you to let Patience have what he is entitled to! Like you are robbing Patience of his victory dance if you get disgruntled and discontent.

Let the lowly brother glory in his exaltation, 10 but the rich in his humiliation, because as a flower of the field he will pass away. 11 For no sooner has the sun risen with a burning heat than it withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beautiful appearance perishes. So the rich man also will fade away in his pursuits.
"Let the Lowly brother glory in his exaltation, but the rich in his humiliation." For a guy like me who deals with the idol of success, this verse hits home. It is so backwards. The NIV says 'humble position,' but the NKJV is almost saying that those who were caught up in the pursuit of money and possessions will be humiliated... humbled when they realize the pettiness of it. Easy to say, hard to wrap your mind around!

Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. 14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.
"Drawn away by his own desires." God would NEVER lead us into something evil that is contrary to Him! (This is when a clearly defined definition of evil would come in handy) Interesting though, we are drawn away by our own desires. He doesn't say God's, he doesn't say Satan's, our own.
ANSWER: Once could conclude then, that a good way to keep from sinning would be to quench those desires that are evil as early as possible.
(Once again a clearly defined definition of evil would come in handy)

But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work,
"continues in it" It is almost as if you never stop looking at the verses(law of liberty) even when you are done reading and walk away from the book. This is very anti- read a chapter so you can get on with life and very much stop when you find something that catches your attention and capture those moments when a verse or scripture captures your attention during conversation or everyday life. I LIKE IT!!!

26 If anyone among you^[b] thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless.
"does not bridle his tongue" if there is one thing i have learned in Proverbs it is that God Hates...I mean HATES lies and deceit!!!

27 Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.
This Verse it so SIMPLE Yet so DEEP!!! It is giving us an Answer!!! A definition of PURE & UNDEFILED RELIGION before GOD! A Religion God approves of! Basically, 1. To help those in need and 2.keep clean from this world.

1. Visit The orphans & widows in their trouble
   
1. orphans
1. They could be trouble kids
2. They could have little potential by the world's standards
   
2. widows
1. Life is probably dealt to them unfairly
2. They are lonely
3. They are probably in physical hardship
   
2. Keep Oneself unspotted from the world
1. "Unspotted/unmarked by the world"- this seems near impossible
2. The world, the flesh, seems like a part of us... but we must remember: IT HAS NO MORE A PLACE THAN THE PURE BEING GOD ORIGINALLY INTENDED FOR US, once we are reconciled with him.
   

Is Christianity decreasing in the US?

During the GP missions training a book called the Next Christendom: The Coming of Global Christianity by Jenkins was brought up. Based on the slow and steady decline in the growth of Christianity in the US, Jenkins suggest that...
The church is moving Southeast on the globe! (Mexico, South America, Africa, Asia)

He suggests that by the year 2050, 1 our of 5 Christians will be a non-latino white person.

This was an eye opener for me.

So often i see America as the standard, having everything to offer everyone else.

Even now, but EVEN MORE in the future we are going to have to humble ourselves as Americans and accept missionaries to our country, realizing that they are finding something in their search for Christ that we maybe missing and that we need THEIR HELP!

we need THEIR HELP!

I hope we are not too arrogant or prideful when it comes to that point!

The Worst Speed Limit

I've Decided 55mph is the Worst Speed Limit Ever!!!
It just taunts you on a major freeway.
It's like telling a runner not to sprint but run faster than 3/4 speed. What is that?!?
I remember getting a speeding ticket deferred in college, so i could not afford to get a ticket for 6 months. During that time i had to travel a few times between home and IWU where the speed limit was 55mph the whole way. My car wouldn't stay at 55. It wanted to go faster or slower but it wouldn't stay. it was almost like telling me to make up my mind!

So that is why we should rid the world of these signs and change them to 65pmh.
But who am i?...
just a disgruntled dangerous 23 year old who thinks every speed limit should probably be faster than it already is!?! :)

I am open to discussion, differing opinions, or correction, but they better be good!!!

Proverbs 11:;25
25 A generous man will prosper;
he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.

Missionary Training with Global Partners

It is always fun meeting other people with the same heart!
The couple in the middle is Rob & Danae Reynolds
There Boys are
Caleb (9) & Aedan (3)

I just found out in the last month that
they will be working with me at Cession Community in New Zealand for two years!
They are a really cool family and they have only given me more to look forward too!


This was the Setup for the week.

We have had probably 10 different speakers over the past 5 days come and speak on:

• spiritual warfare
• wesleyan theology
• hostage survival
• sexual purity
• culture shock
• crosscultural evangelism
• team building
• Kingdom perspective
• missiology

and this is just a few for the start

Jim Vermilya- (who is speaking here) and his wife Jeannette of the Shunem house where we are staying.

Their son is Joey V. who i knew from IWU and their son-in-law is Charlie Alcock

Jim Lo came and spoke Thursday to us.
He has been one of my professors that i have a DEEP respect and admiration for.
His life, spiritual walk, personable attitude, and discerning heart make him hard to miss.

Prov 10:28 The prospect of the righteous is joy,
but the hopes of the wicked come to nothing.

Dream Followup

I felt a little weird looking at my bed the next day, but i have slept solid since and God has been teaching me so much through this time. I don't know how to explain it, but God has just been so generous in guiding and pouring into my thoughts. It is an encouraging time.

My Intense Nightmare with Spiritual Warfare

We talked about spiritual warfare yesterday in my missionary training and i had a nightmare last night. i dream occasionally but usually it is because i have eaten just before i went to bed. I usually don't remember my dreams that well but not so last night. I had no food, but I had this intense dream that i remember pretty distinctly although details are somewhat vague.

The dream started off with me lying on my back in bed. I was trying to go to sleep but i couldn't. My mind was still racing because i had been working right up until i turned out the lights. After awhile i noticed some faint music that had been playing for awhile but i had not taken the time to focus in on it yet. I wanted to get up and check on it, but i knew everyone else was asleep in the house and i was too lazy to get up knowing that i can fall usually fall asleep through anything if i'm tired enough. So i tried to fall back asleep but when i realized that the music wasn't normal i looked around and saw an evil face talking to me, it reminded me of a stuffed dinosaur in a dark corner but more scary than that sounds, but what i realized was that my cheeks and body started to tense up. I tried to cry for help but my mouth was to tense to move or close my mouth, so i mumbled a muffled, "help."
Pretty soon i broke out running into a large room(a conference feel almost) crying for help until people came out of a room and i signaled for them to pray for me. The first group of 4 or 5 friends came over and prayed over me and i started to break from the hold was regaining my ability to talk and loosen up, then it got worse again. The next thing i knew i was back in the bed again. I thought it was over then it got worse. Not only did my jaw lock and i could barely talk, but then my arms and legs started to tense up. I was crying for help, proclaiming the power of Jesus name, but it just got worse.
I feel like i remember getting up again and asking others to pray for me, but all i remember those two guys doing was commenting on something being wrong and reaffirming how bad of a state i was in. Then i was back in my bed on my back again. My lock jaw was aching because of its tense stretching state. i don't think i could open my mouth or jaw any further or close my mouth if i wanted to. My body kept tensing up, i couldn't really cry for help, and my body started to contort in different ways where my arms were crossing each other and i had no control of my body in this state. I felt like if nothing interceded whatever was making my body tense up was going to entangle my arms and l legs and shrivel my body up into a ball and be stuck there in a rock hard position that i couldn't move from. I found myself frantically crying for help. Help! Help! HELP!!!! and i woke up to realize it was all a dream still in a pretty intense state. In my mind i was crying for "help", but i don't know if i actually was crying for help in my sleep. However, It was one of those times i was very thankful to be out of the dream and really don't ever want to go back.

I don't know if this was just my subconscious processing yesterday or whether there was a very real spiritual battle taking place in my sleep right now, but i appreciate your prayers right now and especially anyone that might've randomly been praying for me between 3-8am last night!

Productivity... Where did it come from?

Since I have returned home from Orlando, i have felt very good about my relationships and being productive! I organized everything i own at my parents. That means i organized stuff i hadn't look at since i packed for college a year and a half ago!!! Anyway, i just read this journal from a little bit ago, and i feel like it rightly described where i was at some times during the fall.
The Child hits Adulthood
I look forward to having a statement to say every morning and look forward to the small group helping me with that. Basically a lot of words to say i want Focus.
I hit a crossroads:
procrastination met my weakness of vague deadlines and lack of immediate consequences
Work overran its limits into my fun compartment
My introvert is rivaling my extrovertedness
and my maturity is trying to take over my simple active child i never wanted to lose.

I saw among the simple,
I noticed among the young men,
a youth who lacked judgment.
Proverbs 7:7

It's all in your head.

So this week i am in Indianapolis for a missionary training week.

STORY
I enjoy being single. Honestly i have never had a long relationship so i really don't know what i am missing, so usually i am just happy with life.

Well Tonight i felt like Jaylon. You see. Jaylon is about 7 months old and he is funny. When he hits his head on something he starts to cry, but your reaction makes up his mind. If you laugh and play it off, Jaylon forgets anything ever happened, but if you patronize him, he will take it for what it's worth and cry for a while.

Well tonight, one Joy said she felt bad for me, hinting that i was the only single person here. I would've never given that a second thought, but somehow it just made me take a double take. I had my moment of lonely silence, got over it, and then enjoyed a run and the jacuzzi!

UPDATE:
I spent Christmas with the family and then headed straight to Orlando Florida for the Wesleyan Youth Conference.

When we arrived in Florida i thought in my head, "Something just seems different... Oh... i can see the sun i haven't seen for a month or two!"
The hotel we stayed at was amazing and i enjoyed as much time as possible out in the pool and jacuzzi in the sun out by the palm trees
The Group was small and Awesome
I was also able to meet up with the Waughs who are in the US from New Zealand for a year and also meet Tanya and John Nace who also went to New Zealand for awhile.

See if you can find what is wrong with this picture!
Richard Waugh and John Nace are not in the picture and Jean is wearing Tanya's hair...
and we jumped in the pool in our clothes. Good times.
Steve Fee did an awesome time with the worship

The teaching was also good. I LOVED the seminars.
The rallies were solid teaching but i don't believe it was an emotional experience as Charlotte 03' for better or for worse.

There are six things the LORD hates,
seven that are detestable to him:
haughty eyes,
a lying tongue,
hands that shed innocent blood
a heart that devises wicked schemes,
feet that are quick to rush into evil
a false witness who pours out lies
and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers.

Proverbs 6:16-19

Read Proverbs With Me!

I was talking to Adam last night on the phone
We were talking about reading the Bible and I had an epiphany!

I am going to read the coinciding Proverbs for each day from now on
ex. January 5= Proverbs 5

Here is the way i see it:

1. Anyone Can Do it. I have always longed for for friends to have a way to consistently learn with me.
2. I love Proverbs.
3. There is no "catchup reading." This is an easy reading plan that is not focused on accomplishing... if you miss a day, you'll catch that chapter next month, if you want to read it go ahead!
   

Proverbs 5:21 For a man's ways are in full view of the LORD,
and he examines all his paths.