Long-term Victory

Just had a friend text me this really great quote from Beth Moore:

“Never forget that long-term victory happens one day at a time!”  –Beth Moore

I don’t know about you, but I totally needed that today!!

New Vlog: “Attitude”

Just posted a new blog about “attitude”.  I talked yesterday to a bunch of softball teams from the Little League World Series that takes place every summer in Millsboro, Delaware.  This event is always fun, especially because of the diversity in teenagers that come.  Countries like Puerto Rico, the Philippines, Canada, countries from Europe and the United States take part in this incredibly successful and FUN time.

Each year, we’ve given some kind of talk to help motivate students as they kick off the week and this year I talked about attitude.  Four observations that I made yesterday about our attitudes:

1. A negative attitude has a “snowball” effect.
2. Yelling at someone can be a sign of the wrong attitude.
3. Our attitudes color & shape our personality.
4. Our attitudes must be consistent with our actions.

I wrapped up by telling them that the key to having the right attitude is to fill our mind with the kind of positive thoughts found in Philippians 4:8. 

I’m really going to miss doing this event in the future!!

New Vlog: “Hiding”

Just posted a new video blog that you can check out here on TwitCam talking about “Hiding”.  I spoke to a group of teenagers last week at a local family event called “Carey’s Camp”.  It’s tough deciding each year what to talk about especially when you don’t really know your audience as well as you’d like.  But I decided that since I was speaking to young people, I’d talk about “hiding”.

My point: Sometimes when we struggle in life, we can fool our friends into thinking we’re okay. But we can’t fool God.  We trying to run and hide from the One who wants to set us free and give us peace.  But we do nothing but run.  We can’t hide from God.  And so I talked a little bit about this to some students.

Click on the picture to the right or the link above to check out the video!

Soul Reflections Weekly Vlog

Yes, I said “Vlog”.  I’m thinking about adding something new to the blog.  A weekly video blog (aka VLOG).  Recently with the addition of Twitcam (which is REALLY cool), I’ve wanted to do more video stuff.  And now that a change of career is coming, I may have some more time to explore this idea.

The first video blog I will be doing will be a short devotional/talk on “Hiding”.  Sometimes as Christians we hide our lives from other people and even try to hide from God.  Guess what? God always sees us! So I talked to some teenagers this past week at Carey’s Camp about hiding and will post a vlog on this soon.

You can check out a test video that I did explaining more of this in details by going here! Let the fun begin!!

The Water Mill & a Kiss

Continuing with the picture posts this week, I thought I’d post some pics of a water mill we checked out the other day near the beach!! It was really cool.  Tracey & I stopped to snap a few shots and enjoy the sun a little.

Really cool little water mill near Millville, Delaware

I’m a blessed man & I <3 Tracey

Visit to the Dentist!

It’s been a few days since I’ve posted anything really significant.  I’ve been so busy with all the transitional stuff going on and getting ready for a wedding.  But today I had a good ol’ visit to Dr. Gore’s office, my dentist so that he could fill a cavity! It’s funny though that although it was a painful visit at points, God really showed me how much of a great dentist I have in Dr. Joe Gore.  He’s been a life long friend and has been working on my teeth for practically my entire life.  One of his final remarks to me today after drilling & filling: “So, I guess the rest of your day will be dull, huh?”

Here’s a couple pics I found funny that were in his waiting room:

This is how I felt with Dr. Gore today (see picture above)

Beware all parents

Life in Transition

Tonight I went through a bunch of pictures and videos on my computer of the last 4 years of ministry at Dagsboro Church of God & with 24/7 Student Ministries.  It’s amazing the experiences and opportunities that I’ve been able to be apart of in the last few years.  It seriously feels like I just was writing in my journal yesterday about the transition from college to DCOG.

It seems that when life is in transition, there is serious contemplation and self-examination.  Mind you we should be doing this every day, but there is a sense of restlessness inside of me – an anticipation of what the next step will bring.  I believe that in this transition, God has been continually reminding me that He cares more about WHO I become through this transition than anything I’ve ever done for him. Many, many students have come through 24/7 since I’ve been the youth pastor there and in big ways and small ways God has used me & my leadership team over the years to influence the lives of teenagers and help disciple them.  I’m truly thankful to God for all that He has allowed me to be apart of.

Now comes the transition – and the test.  How will I walk through this process? Who will I become as a result of it? These are all questions that matter to me and I believe should matter to anyone who ever goes through some kind of transition in ministry or in career.  Except, I almost think I’m going through major transitions all at once – marrying my best friend, finding a place to live, seeking out new jobs, & taking a season away from full-time ministry.  Tracey & I believe our callings are doing ministry & helping people.  But we’re excited for the next months of our lives as we start a new chapter together.

I suppose I’m rambling now.  But I don’t care.  The thoughts that I’m having tonight are real and the things that are being stirred up in me right now are curious.  I do have a real sense that God is in control of this whole thing & He knows exactly what path my life is going to take me into.

May the adventure continue…

Beneath the Surface

Recently, I came across a story from CNET news of a teenager who not only liked to text message, it was pretty obvious she LOVED it. How much did she love it? Try sending & receiving over 300,000 worth of text messages in a month! Here’s a snippet from that story:

“You need a peculiar set of half-formed, skinny fingers to text on an iPhone. And you need a peculiar set of strangely formed cranial connections to send and receive 303,398 texts on it in one month.  However, this is the claim of Crystal Wiski, a teen from Antelope in California’s Sacramento County. Her mother, Jackie, bought her the iPhone a month ago and young Crystal took to it like a duck to quacking. Crystal told local NBC station KSBW: ‘I get cramps.’” (CNET News, 05-05-09)

I caught a news story today that said in 2008 over a TRILLION text messages were sent by people in the United States alone!! And although I do not have an exact statistic of how many teenagers & young adults contribute to that statistic, reflecting on Crystal Wiski’s story makes me believe it’s an awful lot.

Why do these stories & statistics matter? Because it tells us that teenagers are talking. And having worked with teenagers for about ten years, it tells me that our young people want to be KNOWN. They want genuine relationships.

All too often, young people (especially this generation) have been cast aside and labeled in every way: trouble, irresponsible, disrespectful & a host of other terms. And while these labels may translate into reality for some kids, it really begs the question: What is beneath the label? What is beneath the surface?

The life of an average teenager today could also be compared to an ice berg that floats seemingly very innocent in the waters of the Arctic Ocean. The small piece of ice on the top is merely a teaser of what’s really below the water. The greatest piece of the ice berg is what floats beneath the surface. And so it is with this generation of young people. All too often, kids are labeled without any concept on our part as to WHY a kid acts the way they do. Emotional, social, psychological & all sorts of other issues are what make up the massive “iceberg” that is the life of your “normal” teenager.

What is my point? As I said above, our teenagers and young adults want relationship. Believe it or not, they want to talk. But between our busy lives as adults & parents, many times we simply put off the life of a student who is only a few inches away from disaster, as the Titanic was when it collided with an ice berg similar to the one described above.

What can we do? Find a teenager, whether troubled or not, and speak into her life. Walk with her, journey with her, & TALK with her. This generation is crying out for caring adults to shepherd and guide them in life. So many times we think our kids do not want our help or advice or guidance, and yet we read of stories & statistics where students are sending thousands and thousands of text messages all the time.

This generation IS talking. Are you listening?

Famous Failures

Just came across an incredibly encouraging video.  To know some of the story behind the failures of some of these people really gives me a little more hope about my life.  We can’t just quit in life – there’s too much at stake!!

Outreach vs. Inreach

I was having a conversation recently with my Tracey, my fiance about the real function of the church and not only what it’s meant to do, but how it’s meant to do it.  (Remember, these are just my thoughts – I hope they challenge you & encourage you).

Simply put – I believe one of the greatest functions of a church is for OUTREACH.  The church (namely, the body of Christ) is meant to GO OUT.  And quite frankly (at least in my setting), I don’t know that churches are doing everything they can to really live out the words Jesus spoke: “Go into all the world and make disciples…” I see services, dinners, concerts, small groups, programs, & lots of entertainment IN the church, but very little that is happening OUTSIDE of the church.

It was about 2 years ago or so that I first heard the word “inreach” used.  At first, I was confused on what it really meant.  And when the explanation was referring to better caring for those within the church, I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.  If you missed the list I wrote above, read it again.  Those are all things we do for US.  I believe in some ways, we have not helped our churches to grow, but to become babies who are dependent upon every crumb and morsel we throw at them.

Is equipping/nourishing/feeding the body of Christ important? ABSOLUTELY! Is it more important than going OUT into our communities and streets and meeting people where they are and meeting needs in whatever way we can to show Jesus? NO WAY!! I’ve yet to find a community that really has a healthy balance of equipping the body and reaching into the community.  And the crazy thing about it, is that the church doesn’t even have to be perfect.  But they must care about both aspects of ministry: Discipleship & Outreach.

My last thought: It’s easy for me to sit here at my computer and write about everything the church needs to be doing that its not.  But what about me? Am I doing those things or willing to do those things too? I pray that God puts people in my path or I am put in the path of others where I can meet someone’s need, whether that’s spiritual, financial, relational or otherwise.  Lord, start with me first and let a passion for discipleship & outreach spread amongst your people.