So this past Monday, a buddy of mine named Cody and I, flew out to Las Vegas, NV to pick up a free car! It was a huge blessing and answer to prayer that I got a free car. My youth pastor friend's wife's grandpa died a few weeks ago and he had like 4 cars. His family was going to give it away in Las Vegas, so when Dewbe found out, he called his father-in-law to inform him that I needed a car and would probably want it. So they gave me the go, all I had to do was get to Vegas to pick it up and I could have it.
So I flew with my buddy to Vegas. His sister picked us up at the airport and took us to lunch, and then we went to pick the car up. After picking it up, Cody and I took off on our long adventure. What should have been an 8.5 hour trip turned into a 13.5 hour trip.
Let me explain.
About 30 miles into out trip we stopped for some gas because we had to go through some mountains and we didn't want to get stuck. When we were about to leave, I thought to myself, I'm thirsty, I should get some water while looking at the thermometer in the car reading 111. I then thought to myself, nahhh I'll be fine. I'll just get something on the other side.
Little did I know that 10 miles later my car would overheat.
Cody and I then sat in the sun in the middle of the desert with no water or food for about 3.5 to 4 hours. It was soo hot! SOOO HOTTT! It was a good time that we had though. Suffering together... talking about life. I love Cody. He has been so welcoming to me here in my hometown, after not really knowing me before I came home for my internship.
Finally, his sister brought us some water to put in the coolant system, and we went on our way. 8 hours later or so, at about 5am, we arrived at our destination.
Now, I want to talk about something that happened today. I was riding in the car with Brandon and Dewbe, and Dewbe said something to me that is shaking my view of myself right now. I struggle sometimes with believing lies that I am not fit for youth ministry. Today, Dewbe said something so nonchalantly, but it is shaking that lie and putting it to death.
"You are doing a really good job James."
"A good job at what?"
"At your internship stuff. You know, I was even talking to Mary the other day and I was saying that you are probably better than 90% of the youth ministry guys I know..."
"Thanks Dewbe."
And a minute later the subject changed. I don't remember what to, but the words that Dewbe spoke to me keep ringing in my head. It was really hard for me to believe, but I think he genuinely believed his statement about me.
It was so encouraging and I do not think he realizes how much the such nonchalant little piece of encouragement meant to me. It is so encouraging to me when other people can see me living out the calling that God has placed in my life, when I can't see it or believe it sometimes. It shakes me when people I look up to say simple things like that.
The thing is, I do not know if I can live my calling out to its full potential, until I fully believe in it. Until I see myself as a youth pastor leading kids towards God, I can't do it the way God needs me to or wants me to. I think God is in the process of growing me to be big enough for the dream he has given me.
So that's what has gone on in my life this past week. I love all of you who read blogs.
Dear Lord,
Thank You soo much for speaking me today through someone's nonchalant statement. Thank You for encouraging me on my journey towards my life of service to you. Keep bringing me closer to you. Give me enough faith to get out of the boat. Sanctify me. Call me to you. Wake me up. Shake me. Let me hear your voice. I love You so much.
In the name of Jesus Christ,
Amen.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Thursday, June 25, 2009
My Oblivious Influence
I have always believed that I have had a great influence on kid's lives, but I have been oblivious as to how great that influence is until this week. It has been a humbling and eye opening realization.
This week is my church's yearly Summer Vacation Bible School called Buddy Bears! I grew up since I was about 4 or 5 going to Buddy Bears, and then I've been helping out at Buddy Bears ever since I was too old to go. It has been this week at Buddy Bears that has been one of the most influential times in my life.
My first epiphany of the magnitude of influence I have over kids came on Tuesday when I talked to a kid in my group's mother when I confessed my adoration for her son. The previous day I had flexed my muscle for him and told him that if he started lifting heavy things his muscles would slowly grow to the size of mine, and maybe even bigger. The mother told me that day that she heard some clanking in another room the night before and went in there and the little boy was lifting the fire place tools. When she asked him what he was doing he said, "James said..." (wow) "that if I lift heavy things my muscles will get bigger!" I know, I know... really cute huh??? But I now realize that kids listen to every word that I say and they believe it. The ten words that I said to him in that one moment dictated his life for that night, and he has told me about lifting more things the past two days.
More epiphanies have come as the week has progressed. From the little boy named Deven coming up to my every day before lunch and asking if I would sit with him, to the hand-full of students who beg me to sit next to them every time we go somewhere and then get jealous of eachother if I sit somewhere else, to Austin copying my British accent and telling me I am the coolest guy he has ever met, many things have awoken me from my obliviousness.
I am humbled to know that I have such an influence on kids, and that God has chosen me to have that influence, so that I can influence them towards Him. I am reminded of Mark 9:41 where it says, "If anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a large millstone tied around his neck." This verse reminds me that much responsibility has been givn to me, and thus, much is expected of me. I must be aware at all times who I am influencing and what I am influencing them towards. My goal is not to lead students away from Christ, but towards Him. It is soo cool that I get to invest in these kids and point them towards God.
My encouragement to the blogging world is that we do have influence over kids, whether we realize it or not.
Be aware of the influence you have over other people so that you can take seriously the call to glorify God with every breath of every day, so that no one will be mistaken about who you are influencing them towards.
Dear Heavenly Father,
I thank You for giving me the opportunity to be here this summer and this week at Buddy Bears. Thank You for making me aware of the influence I have over kids. Lord, my goal is to influence kids towards You and the love that You have for them. Help me to glorify you with every breath that I take so that I might influence kids towards You in the best way possible. I want to take seriously the call You have placed on my life and the heart You have given me. I love You sooo much. I thank You and praise You!
In the name of Jesus Christ, Your Son: Amen.
This week is my church's yearly Summer Vacation Bible School called Buddy Bears! I grew up since I was about 4 or 5 going to Buddy Bears, and then I've been helping out at Buddy Bears ever since I was too old to go. It has been this week at Buddy Bears that has been one of the most influential times in my life.
My first epiphany of the magnitude of influence I have over kids came on Tuesday when I talked to a kid in my group's mother when I confessed my adoration for her son. The previous day I had flexed my muscle for him and told him that if he started lifting heavy things his muscles would slowly grow to the size of mine, and maybe even bigger. The mother told me that day that she heard some clanking in another room the night before and went in there and the little boy was lifting the fire place tools. When she asked him what he was doing he said, "James said..." (wow) "that if I lift heavy things my muscles will get bigger!" I know, I know... really cute huh??? But I now realize that kids listen to every word that I say and they believe it. The ten words that I said to him in that one moment dictated his life for that night, and he has told me about lifting more things the past two days.
More epiphanies have come as the week has progressed. From the little boy named Deven coming up to my every day before lunch and asking if I would sit with him, to the hand-full of students who beg me to sit next to them every time we go somewhere and then get jealous of eachother if I sit somewhere else, to Austin copying my British accent and telling me I am the coolest guy he has ever met, many things have awoken me from my obliviousness.
I am humbled to know that I have such an influence on kids, and that God has chosen me to have that influence, so that I can influence them towards Him. I am reminded of Mark 9:41 where it says, "If anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a large millstone tied around his neck." This verse reminds me that much responsibility has been givn to me, and thus, much is expected of me. I must be aware at all times who I am influencing and what I am influencing them towards. My goal is not to lead students away from Christ, but towards Him. It is soo cool that I get to invest in these kids and point them towards God.
My encouragement to the blogging world is that we do have influence over kids, whether we realize it or not.
Be aware of the influence you have over other people so that you can take seriously the call to glorify God with every breath of every day, so that no one will be mistaken about who you are influencing them towards.
Dear Heavenly Father,
I thank You for giving me the opportunity to be here this summer and this week at Buddy Bears. Thank You for making me aware of the influence I have over kids. Lord, my goal is to influence kids towards You and the love that You have for them. Help me to glorify you with every breath that I take so that I might influence kids towards You in the best way possible. I want to take seriously the call You have placed on my life and the heart You have given me. I love You sooo much. I thank You and praise You!
In the name of Jesus Christ, Your Son: Amen.
Friday, June 12, 2009
Wow I haven't blogged in like a month!!!!
I guess I've just been really distracted with a lot of really important things. It is my duty to update you on the world of James, the life that sits in the wildhorse canyon... :)
So lets start with the first few days of summer. I got home and rested for the weekend, then started our move to a different house. A much smaller house. I had some friends come help my family out... Ryan, Bryan and Matt all helped us out, but at different times. They were such a blessing. This is what I did for my first 2-3 days of my summer vacation and week rest before starting my internship. I only did it the first 2-3 days because I got sick. I came down with some sort of infection, and the doctor told me I had to be in lock-down and I couldn't be around people, because I was more susceptible to getting the flu since my immune system was being affected by the infection. So many days were Jeff and Dan here that I really wanted to hang out, but I couldn't... I was very dissapointed and kinda lonely.
Eventually I got over my sickness and the next Tuesday morning I met my youth pastor, Dewbe, for some starbucks before our staff meeting. We met so he could get an update and figure out where I was spiritually, and to tell you the truth, I wasn't where I wanted to be. For the longest time I had been down on myself for not doing my own personal devotions every day. I recognized the need to constantly be filled with God's Spirit, yet I did nothing to do that. I didn't pray every day. I didn't read my Bible. I felt like I wasn't taking my calling seriously. I knew I needed to be in a different place. Dewbe told me something that really stood out. First he told me that the shame and disgust that I felt was not coming from God... and I knew that... but he then told me that it was good that I desired to be in that place because the kids that I minister to will only be as spiritual as I am... or something to the effect. I desire nothing more than to love God and develop my personal relationship with Him, and that love for God will overflow into love for other people, and the love for other people I have will affect other people to the point where they develop a love for God. It seems like an infectious idea to me.
So he challenged me to start doing daily devotions, to pray, to read my Bible, and to listen for God's voice. I tell you, life is much different now. I love it.
I then started my internship. It has been a blast so far. Soon after I started we took our seniors on a trip to lake shasta. It was meant to be a fun trip, but we had a spiritual focus on it. We did this because statistics show that like 80% of Christian highschool graduates after leaving for college abandon their faith. The number is shockingly high and breaks my heart. So our focus was on trying to give them tools to make their faith their own so that when they do leave for college in a few months, they will hopefully be built up and won't abandon their faith. We all had a blast during the weekend though through tubing, wakeboarding, kneeboarding, swimming and worshipping. It was an awesome weekend that I won't forget.
I also have had the chance to preach a few times so far. For the first month we followed a curriculum until we got into the student's summer. Now it's up to us and the Holy Spirit for our sermons, which I like a lot more.
We have had two awesome youth nights so far for the student's summers. The first one was a water games night. It ended up just being a big waterballoon fight. It was really fun! Then this past wednesday we had a food fight night. Dewbe, my youthpastor, was gone this week because he's up in Redding taking some masters classes through Tozer Seminary at Simpson, so I pretty much played Youthpastor that night. I got youthgroup going, led worship, preached, and ran some games. My buddy Jon ran a egg in a pipe game where there is two people on the ends of a clear plastic pipe with a couple eggs in it... they blow and someone ends up eventually with egg in their face. We then did bobbing for apples in cereal and milk... that was really funny and I'm surprised the kids had as much fun as they did. I then ran Blend-or-Dare which was really nasty and kinda anti-climactic, but was still fun. We then had our big food-fight game called presidents. Basically, two teams, each with a president. You have to protect your president, as well as get the other president dirty, whichever president is the cleanest at the end of the game wins. The boys totally whomped on the girls. It was a little unfair, I have to admit. For that game, Jon and I had prepared about 20 pounds of flower by adding water to make a bunch of goop. That stuff was really fun to throw at people. Then began the long process of cleaning it all up. haha... it didn't take as long as I thought it would.
And a quick change of topic. Lately I have been thinking about how complacency ruins us. When we think we don't need anything else, we stop living... we basically die. A. W. Tozer once wrote that complacency was the deadly enemy to all spiritual growth, and I completely agree because not only does it stop growth, it takes us backwards. This is what I spoke on this last week at youth group. I used an example of how my complacency with a female friend I had ruined my chances of dating her and then ruined our relationship because we don't even speak anymore. I then talked about Revelation 3:14-19... the verse that talks about the church in Laodicea being like lukewarm water and Jesus wanting to vomit them out of His mouth.
Little did I know, but in that verse Jesus actually is comparing the church to Laodicea's water supply. Because the church was complacent in trying to be self-sufficient their poor water supply was not useful unless heated for bathing or cooled for drinking. Thus he was saying that their complacency had made them un-useful. Their un-useful-ness had caused them to fall into sin and they didn't look any different from the surrounding world. They focused on things of the world and they thought they were rich by the world's standards... so Jesus urged them to buy His gold refined in the fire so that they could become rich. They looked like the rest of the world by sinning and not repenting, so Jesus urges them to buy white clothes from Him so that their shameful nakedness wouldn't be exposed... because everyone in Laodicea wore black clothes... thus, you could tell the difference from God's people and those of the world. They were spiritually blind to the fact that they needed God, so Jesus urged them to buy ointment from Him to spread on their eyes so that they could see. And Jesus made this offensive comment and rebuke to the Church in Laodicea out of love. He loved them so much that he did not want them to be complacent like the rest of the world, so he called them to obedience and repentance. I think it is so cool how every detail was put in the Bible for a purpose.
I then concluded with how frequently in scripture we are urged to press on towards the prize, to add to our faith, to run the race! I then gave the example that when I started running a mile to get in shape and I became complacent with how fast I ran it, I stopped running. A couple weeks later I decided to run another mile and I couldn't... because I didn't press on. I became complacent and stopped running, and then went backwards in my ability.
I share all of my sermon with you, not to just tell you what I spoke about. I share it with you to encourage you. Whether you might be complacent or you always seek more with God... I want this to encourage you. If you find yourself in the middle of complacency, I urge you to seek more from God. Develop your relationship with Him so that he may call you and use you for his purposes. If you continually press on towards the goal to win the prize, as Paul would say, I encourage you to never become complacent, because when you do, you stop running... and when you stop running, you slow down to a jog, and then to a walk, and then to a hobble, and then to a crawl... and eventually you die and fall away. When you think there is nothing else you need, you stop living... and when people aren't living... they are inherently dead.
"Complacency is the deadly enemy of spiritual progress."
-A. W. Tozer
Lord,
I pray for the rest of my life that I would never become complacent in anything. That I would always seek more of You in my life. I pray for the people who read my blog that they would not become complacent in anything and that they would continually desire to grow in their loving relationship with You and that You would use them for your purposes. Lord, I speak against complacency and want to encourage all towards growth in you. Lord bless the rest of our summer and keep my friends across seas in your will this summer. Protect them and bless them as they seek to advance your Kingdom. I pray that they would be obedient to the things that You call them to do as they interact with the people of the countries they are in. Lord I pray that You would continue to speak to all of us and then we would wait upon You and listen for Your voice. Guide us as we grow in You.
In the name of Jesus Christ I pray,
Amen.
So lets start with the first few days of summer. I got home and rested for the weekend, then started our move to a different house. A much smaller house. I had some friends come help my family out... Ryan, Bryan and Matt all helped us out, but at different times. They were such a blessing. This is what I did for my first 2-3 days of my summer vacation and week rest before starting my internship. I only did it the first 2-3 days because I got sick. I came down with some sort of infection, and the doctor told me I had to be in lock-down and I couldn't be around people, because I was more susceptible to getting the flu since my immune system was being affected by the infection. So many days were Jeff and Dan here that I really wanted to hang out, but I couldn't... I was very dissapointed and kinda lonely.
Eventually I got over my sickness and the next Tuesday morning I met my youth pastor, Dewbe, for some starbucks before our staff meeting. We met so he could get an update and figure out where I was spiritually, and to tell you the truth, I wasn't where I wanted to be. For the longest time I had been down on myself for not doing my own personal devotions every day. I recognized the need to constantly be filled with God's Spirit, yet I did nothing to do that. I didn't pray every day. I didn't read my Bible. I felt like I wasn't taking my calling seriously. I knew I needed to be in a different place. Dewbe told me something that really stood out. First he told me that the shame and disgust that I felt was not coming from God... and I knew that... but he then told me that it was good that I desired to be in that place because the kids that I minister to will only be as spiritual as I am... or something to the effect. I desire nothing more than to love God and develop my personal relationship with Him, and that love for God will overflow into love for other people, and the love for other people I have will affect other people to the point where they develop a love for God. It seems like an infectious idea to me.
So he challenged me to start doing daily devotions, to pray, to read my Bible, and to listen for God's voice. I tell you, life is much different now. I love it.
I then started my internship. It has been a blast so far. Soon after I started we took our seniors on a trip to lake shasta. It was meant to be a fun trip, but we had a spiritual focus on it. We did this because statistics show that like 80% of Christian highschool graduates after leaving for college abandon their faith. The number is shockingly high and breaks my heart. So our focus was on trying to give them tools to make their faith their own so that when they do leave for college in a few months, they will hopefully be built up and won't abandon their faith. We all had a blast during the weekend though through tubing, wakeboarding, kneeboarding, swimming and worshipping. It was an awesome weekend that I won't forget.
I also have had the chance to preach a few times so far. For the first month we followed a curriculum until we got into the student's summer. Now it's up to us and the Holy Spirit for our sermons, which I like a lot more.
We have had two awesome youth nights so far for the student's summers. The first one was a water games night. It ended up just being a big waterballoon fight. It was really fun! Then this past wednesday we had a food fight night. Dewbe, my youthpastor, was gone this week because he's up in Redding taking some masters classes through Tozer Seminary at Simpson, so I pretty much played Youthpastor that night. I got youthgroup going, led worship, preached, and ran some games. My buddy Jon ran a egg in a pipe game where there is two people on the ends of a clear plastic pipe with a couple eggs in it... they blow and someone ends up eventually with egg in their face. We then did bobbing for apples in cereal and milk... that was really funny and I'm surprised the kids had as much fun as they did. I then ran Blend-or-Dare which was really nasty and kinda anti-climactic, but was still fun. We then had our big food-fight game called presidents. Basically, two teams, each with a president. You have to protect your president, as well as get the other president dirty, whichever president is the cleanest at the end of the game wins. The boys totally whomped on the girls. It was a little unfair, I have to admit. For that game, Jon and I had prepared about 20 pounds of flower by adding water to make a bunch of goop. That stuff was really fun to throw at people. Then began the long process of cleaning it all up. haha... it didn't take as long as I thought it would.
And a quick change of topic. Lately I have been thinking about how complacency ruins us. When we think we don't need anything else, we stop living... we basically die. A. W. Tozer once wrote that complacency was the deadly enemy to all spiritual growth, and I completely agree because not only does it stop growth, it takes us backwards. This is what I spoke on this last week at youth group. I used an example of how my complacency with a female friend I had ruined my chances of dating her and then ruined our relationship because we don't even speak anymore. I then talked about Revelation 3:14-19... the verse that talks about the church in Laodicea being like lukewarm water and Jesus wanting to vomit them out of His mouth.
Little did I know, but in that verse Jesus actually is comparing the church to Laodicea's water supply. Because the church was complacent in trying to be self-sufficient their poor water supply was not useful unless heated for bathing or cooled for drinking. Thus he was saying that their complacency had made them un-useful. Their un-useful-ness had caused them to fall into sin and they didn't look any different from the surrounding world. They focused on things of the world and they thought they were rich by the world's standards... so Jesus urged them to buy His gold refined in the fire so that they could become rich. They looked like the rest of the world by sinning and not repenting, so Jesus urges them to buy white clothes from Him so that their shameful nakedness wouldn't be exposed... because everyone in Laodicea wore black clothes... thus, you could tell the difference from God's people and those of the world. They were spiritually blind to the fact that they needed God, so Jesus urged them to buy ointment from Him to spread on their eyes so that they could see. And Jesus made this offensive comment and rebuke to the Church in Laodicea out of love. He loved them so much that he did not want them to be complacent like the rest of the world, so he called them to obedience and repentance. I think it is so cool how every detail was put in the Bible for a purpose.
I then concluded with how frequently in scripture we are urged to press on towards the prize, to add to our faith, to run the race! I then gave the example that when I started running a mile to get in shape and I became complacent with how fast I ran it, I stopped running. A couple weeks later I decided to run another mile and I couldn't... because I didn't press on. I became complacent and stopped running, and then went backwards in my ability.
I share all of my sermon with you, not to just tell you what I spoke about. I share it with you to encourage you. Whether you might be complacent or you always seek more with God... I want this to encourage you. If you find yourself in the middle of complacency, I urge you to seek more from God. Develop your relationship with Him so that he may call you and use you for his purposes. If you continually press on towards the goal to win the prize, as Paul would say, I encourage you to never become complacent, because when you do, you stop running... and when you stop running, you slow down to a jog, and then to a walk, and then to a hobble, and then to a crawl... and eventually you die and fall away. When you think there is nothing else you need, you stop living... and when people aren't living... they are inherently dead.
"Complacency is the deadly enemy of spiritual progress."
-A. W. Tozer
Lord,
I pray for the rest of my life that I would never become complacent in anything. That I would always seek more of You in my life. I pray for the people who read my blog that they would not become complacent in anything and that they would continually desire to grow in their loving relationship with You and that You would use them for your purposes. Lord, I speak against complacency and want to encourage all towards growth in you. Lord bless the rest of our summer and keep my friends across seas in your will this summer. Protect them and bless them as they seek to advance your Kingdom. I pray that they would be obedient to the things that You call them to do as they interact with the people of the countries they are in. Lord I pray that You would continue to speak to all of us and then we would wait upon You and listen for Your voice. Guide us as we grow in You.
In the name of Jesus Christ I pray,
Amen.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Broken Hearted
Broken Hearted
Lyrics and Music written by James Spencer April 26, 2009
Verse:
You break my heart into a thousand tiny pieces
over a thousand dying people
over the poor and oppressed, the starving and the thirsty,
the naked and the poor, the widow and the orphan…
Chorus:
And how can I let them live like that,
and not do anything, to help them myself? (x2)
Bridge:
I want a heart like yours, of love and compassion,
to do the things you did, to serve You and Your Kingdom. (x2)
So give me your heart, give me your heart, give me your heart, yeah.
Lyrics and Music written by James Spencer April 26, 2009
Verse:
You break my heart into a thousand tiny pieces
over a thousand dying people
over the poor and oppressed, the starving and the thirsty,
the naked and the poor, the widow and the orphan…
Chorus:
And how can I let them live like that,
and not do anything, to help them myself? (x2)
Bridge:
I want a heart like yours, of love and compassion,
to do the things you did, to serve You and Your Kingdom. (x2)
So give me your heart, give me your heart, give me your heart, yeah.
Saturday, April 11, 2009
A God Thing
So Good Friday was encouraging. God continues to amaze me with the things he has up his sleeves.
During Spring Break I attended the Jr. High Youth Group. I helped lead worship at it with a few friends and it was all peaches and creme until we finished the second to last song and I suddenly heard someone yell "SHUT UP!!!" It shocked me to hear a sixth or seventh grader shout something like that in the middle of worship, whether they are focusing on God like they are supposed to or not. This discouraged me very greatly because I am supposed to be interning there this summer, and seemingly nothing had changed since I had left and gone to college. I immediately got discouraged and afraid about what my internship was going to be like during the summer.
Later, at the end of the week on Sunday, I was at church. Brandon had just finished sharing about how he felt God was going to use the church for great things. We then started to sing "God of this City," by Chris Tomlin. That song is soo powerful. I immediately felt connected to God's heart and so I stood up and lifted my hands while I sang my heart out and proclaimed "Greater things are yet to come! Greater things are yet to come! Greater things are still to be done in this city!"
God spoke to me in those moments and encouraged me about the summer. He told me not to worry about the summer because he was going to do something great in and through me. It was so encouraging and so comforting. I sit and think about what God could do this summer, and I get really excited.
That was amazing.
Then I go home this weekend for Easter. My parents came up to Redding on Thursday to pick Bryan, Dan, and I up. Before we even left Redding my parents told me that we were moving right at the beginning of May (like right after I get out of school). Instead of living in our 4 bedroom, 2 bath, atleast 1,600 sq. ft. house, we will be living in a 2 bedroom, 1 bath, 600 sq. ft. shack behind our good friends' house. This is not exciting to me at all, and I also have to live in our camper trailer the whole summer. But I keep getting reminded of what God wants to do this summer. I am also encouraged by the fact that my parents are talking about how they are getting ready and are waiting for what God wants them to do. I really have no idea what they are going to do, but I am so joyful that they are trying to find God's heart for them.
Back to the story, I go to the Good Friday service at my church. I get to talking really quickly with my Youth Pastor Dewbe, whom I will be interning with during the summer, and he tells me that he and Dave (the head pastor) want me to be at the church full time and that he is working on getting people in the church to sponsor me so that hopefully I can get paid $1,000 per month. That is way more than I imagined I would get paid. God is definitely taking care of me and setting things up for the summer, and I feel so blessed.
Lord,
THANK YOU SOO MUCH FOR ALL THAT YOU ARE DOING!!! I pray that You continue to work on my heart for this summer and for the hearts of people in Brentwood. I pray for opportunities and divinely constructed events for me and others in the church to share your love with people. Lord thank you for taking care of me and setting things up for the summer. I can't help but get excited when I think about what you could possibly have up your sleeve for this summer. I love you very much!
Amen.
Your Willing Servant, James.
During Spring Break I attended the Jr. High Youth Group. I helped lead worship at it with a few friends and it was all peaches and creme until we finished the second to last song and I suddenly heard someone yell "SHUT UP!!!" It shocked me to hear a sixth or seventh grader shout something like that in the middle of worship, whether they are focusing on God like they are supposed to or not. This discouraged me very greatly because I am supposed to be interning there this summer, and seemingly nothing had changed since I had left and gone to college. I immediately got discouraged and afraid about what my internship was going to be like during the summer.
Later, at the end of the week on Sunday, I was at church. Brandon had just finished sharing about how he felt God was going to use the church for great things. We then started to sing "God of this City," by Chris Tomlin. That song is soo powerful. I immediately felt connected to God's heart and so I stood up and lifted my hands while I sang my heart out and proclaimed "Greater things are yet to come! Greater things are yet to come! Greater things are still to be done in this city!"
God spoke to me in those moments and encouraged me about the summer. He told me not to worry about the summer because he was going to do something great in and through me. It was so encouraging and so comforting. I sit and think about what God could do this summer, and I get really excited.
That was amazing.
Then I go home this weekend for Easter. My parents came up to Redding on Thursday to pick Bryan, Dan, and I up. Before we even left Redding my parents told me that we were moving right at the beginning of May (like right after I get out of school). Instead of living in our 4 bedroom, 2 bath, atleast 1,600 sq. ft. house, we will be living in a 2 bedroom, 1 bath, 600 sq. ft. shack behind our good friends' house. This is not exciting to me at all, and I also have to live in our camper trailer the whole summer. But I keep getting reminded of what God wants to do this summer. I am also encouraged by the fact that my parents are talking about how they are getting ready and are waiting for what God wants them to do. I really have no idea what they are going to do, but I am so joyful that they are trying to find God's heart for them.
Back to the story, I go to the Good Friday service at my church. I get to talking really quickly with my Youth Pastor Dewbe, whom I will be interning with during the summer, and he tells me that he and Dave (the head pastor) want me to be at the church full time and that he is working on getting people in the church to sponsor me so that hopefully I can get paid $1,000 per month. That is way more than I imagined I would get paid. God is definitely taking care of me and setting things up for the summer, and I feel so blessed.
Lord,
THANK YOU SOO MUCH FOR ALL THAT YOU ARE DOING!!! I pray that You continue to work on my heart for this summer and for the hearts of people in Brentwood. I pray for opportunities and divinely constructed events for me and others in the church to share your love with people. Lord thank you for taking care of me and setting things up for the summer. I can't help but get excited when I think about what you could possibly have up your sleeve for this summer. I love you very much!
Amen.
Your Willing Servant, James.
Friday, April 10, 2009
Post-Spring Break
So I know it is long overdue, but here is my Post-Spring Break Blog.
Spring Break finished and it was awesome. Though I spent waaaay more money than I would have liked, it was great to hang out with some people from home that I had not hung out with in a while, and it would not have been the same had I not gone out to eat, gone to the beach, and gone out to eat again. It was soo great to experience friendships outside of Simpson and at Church. It was encouraging. The last night of Spring Break everybody came over to my house. The plan was to eat tacos and then watch Jurassic Park. Only a few people came over to eat tacos... and we never really watched Jurassic Park. Instead, we ended up going out to the pier out behind my house really late at night and hanging out there. There were soo many people too, and it was amazing.
Then Sunday came and it was time to go back to school. Matt and I weren't supposed to leave until late because we were picking up Sarah at the Sac Airport at like 11. Her flight from Pennsylvania ended up getting pushed later and later, and she ended up missing classes monday. So matt and I left around 8 or 9 I think.
We then had a week of school. That week of school was not hard. We had our Spring Formal. It was soo much fun. I attended with a large group of friends. Me, Jeff, Eric, Hannah, Aubrey, Danae, Eleanor, Stephanie, Natalie, Hillary, and Caleb. We all had soo much fun. I'm so glad I went. There was a part where they taught us how to swing dance, and that was pretty cool and not too hard. I ended up dancing a lot with Aubrey during the swing dancing thing, and she did well. I also must express that all of the girls looked very beatiful! Honestly. They were amazing! AAAND... It's soo fun to get dressed up.
Then came this past week. All day Sunday I was in the library writing a 7 page, 7500 word paper on the conflicts in cross-cultural terms in the movie Fools Rush In. The rest of the week was a sinch, and now I'm at home for Easter weekend. It's kinda nice because we have four days (FRI-MON).
In other news, I'm really excited about this summer and next school year. This summer I am set to do an internship with my Youth Pastor, Dewbe Wright. He's really awesome and I have been getting this feeling, from God presumably, that He is going to be doing some great things this summer in the East Bay, which is probably why I am soo excited. I'm not the only who has been getting this feeling. I am also stoked about next year as an RA, and it being my senior year and all, but I am soo pleased at most, if not all, of the people that Residence Life has hired as leaders for next year. I really wish my friend Jeff had been chosen because he is really great; I hope he applies again next year.
Lord,
I thank You for who You are. I am soo excited about this upcoming summer and next year. As I serve You, I pray that You would teach me what it means to serve You, as well as continue to develop me and my character into the man, and future youth pastor, that You want me to be. Lord I pray that You would bless us all with Your love this summer and that You would continue to be magnificent in our lives. I ask that You would continue to reveal Yourself to us.
Amen.
Spring Break finished and it was awesome. Though I spent waaaay more money than I would have liked, it was great to hang out with some people from home that I had not hung out with in a while, and it would not have been the same had I not gone out to eat, gone to the beach, and gone out to eat again. It was soo great to experience friendships outside of Simpson and at Church. It was encouraging. The last night of Spring Break everybody came over to my house. The plan was to eat tacos and then watch Jurassic Park. Only a few people came over to eat tacos... and we never really watched Jurassic Park. Instead, we ended up going out to the pier out behind my house really late at night and hanging out there. There were soo many people too, and it was amazing.
Then Sunday came and it was time to go back to school. Matt and I weren't supposed to leave until late because we were picking up Sarah at the Sac Airport at like 11. Her flight from Pennsylvania ended up getting pushed later and later, and she ended up missing classes monday. So matt and I left around 8 or 9 I think.
We then had a week of school. That week of school was not hard. We had our Spring Formal. It was soo much fun. I attended with a large group of friends. Me, Jeff, Eric, Hannah, Aubrey, Danae, Eleanor, Stephanie, Natalie, Hillary, and Caleb. We all had soo much fun. I'm so glad I went. There was a part where they taught us how to swing dance, and that was pretty cool and not too hard. I ended up dancing a lot with Aubrey during the swing dancing thing, and she did well. I also must express that all of the girls looked very beatiful! Honestly. They were amazing! AAAND... It's soo fun to get dressed up.
Then came this past week. All day Sunday I was in the library writing a 7 page, 7500 word paper on the conflicts in cross-cultural terms in the movie Fools Rush In. The rest of the week was a sinch, and now I'm at home for Easter weekend. It's kinda nice because we have four days (FRI-MON).
In other news, I'm really excited about this summer and next school year. This summer I am set to do an internship with my Youth Pastor, Dewbe Wright. He's really awesome and I have been getting this feeling, from God presumably, that He is going to be doing some great things this summer in the East Bay, which is probably why I am soo excited. I'm not the only who has been getting this feeling. I am also stoked about next year as an RA, and it being my senior year and all, but I am soo pleased at most, if not all, of the people that Residence Life has hired as leaders for next year. I really wish my friend Jeff had been chosen because he is really great; I hope he applies again next year.
Lord,
I thank You for who You are. I am soo excited about this upcoming summer and next year. As I serve You, I pray that You would teach me what it means to serve You, as well as continue to develop me and my character into the man, and future youth pastor, that You want me to be. Lord I pray that You would bless us all with Your love this summer and that You would continue to be magnificent in our lives. I ask that You would continue to reveal Yourself to us.
Amen.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Spring Break
This is my Spring Break blog for Mid Spring Break. A Post Spring Break blog will come after Spring Break is over. Eric and I are at my house. We are in the room with a computer. I am on my labtop. Eric is on our desktop. We are sitting in the same room and we are not talking to each other. Eric is messaging Bryan on Facebook. I am writing this blog. A bird just flew by the window and landed in the tree outside. It is chirping now. There are lots of cars parked on the street. I have some binoculars sitting to my left. We will use them when we go to Mt. Diablo today with Heidi, Luke, and Matt Cronk. Eric met Heidi for the first time in real life yesterday. They both think the other is cool and fun. Yesterday, Eric and I went to a rave and had waaaaaaaaay more fun than Katie and Danae did just sitting in Danae's house with nothing to do except twiddle their thumbs and look at eachother with stupid faces. Yesterday we watched a movie that was really confusing and I don't plan on seeing it again. I am writing this blog as a tribute to my good friend Daniel Montecinos, whom I haven't seen in almost a week and will see on either Wednesday night or Thursday when we go to Santa Cruz. I'm really sad because Ian might not come to Santa Cruz with us anymore because he doesn't have enough money for gas and all. I talked to him about some ideas for how he could raise some funds for gas. These included mowing his father's lawn, raking the rocks on the mountain, sweeping the driveway, begging, and prostituting, all of which I would be willing to do with Ian if he could make it up here. Even if he doesn't make it up, I'm sure we will have a grand time and his spirit will be with us. God is great! God is good! Thankyou Lord for awesome friends and your creation!
Amen God!
Love,
James
Amen God!
Love,
James
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