I will be starting the last football camp of my life, so I won't be posting for a while.
We will have a week of practice and then we will leave for Breakaway on Friday morning to return on Sunday afternoon. Next week is another week of practices and then we will be helping out with All-Campus move-in day. School will start after the second week of camp so the schedule gets a little easier, from a football sense. We will be having a scrimage on Sat. Sept. 2 at Sumner High School (I think) and our first game is at home, Sat. Sept. 9, Sparks Stadium at 1:30 pm.
I may have some free time in the evenings, so call me and we will see about that.
If you are praying for me, then you can pray that I will not only survive camp, but I will thrive in it. I hope to avoid injury and I want to perform well. Pray that I will total release every pratice and that I will continue to get better.
Most important, pray that I will continue to seek Jesus in a dark environment and a busy schedule. I need Him more than ever.
Thanks for a great B-day yesterday (sorry for falling asleep).
See you in the school year.
Saturday, August 19, 2006
Friday, August 18, 2006
23
It is my birthday today, In case people haven't noticed. This is but one more step until I am over the hill, 23/40 = 58% over the hill. If you really want to get me the best gift ever, you could find a Taylor 410 CE and buy it for me (list price of about $2000).
I got back from Alaska on Wednesday night (after a 2 hour plane delay) and I have noticed some really interesting things. In Ketchikan, I feel like there is an abundance of faith. People believe that if they pray for their friends, they will get saved; if they cry out to God long enough, He will step in and alter the situation to His glory. I find that I lack that here sometimes. I tend to look more toward the thing I am doing and less to the thing God is doing. I feel that there are many things that God will ask me to do for Him, but instead of saying to God, "Look at what I am doing for You" I should be saying, "I did what You asked, what is next?"
The place of waiting and trusting the Lord is where I need to be and where our ministry needs to be.
The Lord showed me a cool picture (I know how you feel sometimes Joy, because this is hard to convey properly). We were at the prayer meeting in Ketchikan on Tuesday night and about 80+ people were there. We listened to this cool soaking prayer thing, I don't know who it was by but it was very cool. There was a part where he talked about the room of intercession in the heavenlies and it floored me!!! I was standing in the back and I saw a picture of a person in the spiritual armor of God. This armor was very functional and well used. The armor was in really good repair and the person was ready for battle and experienced in warfare. The armor was customized and was perfect for the individual, allowing them to move freely and effectively. I am reminded of a verse in Song of Solomon 3:7-8. The people who wear this kind of armor are people who have been in the wars and have seen things most people have not.
Compare this to other people who just went to the store and bought their armor yesterday. It is shiny and new and it is strong enough, but you can tell it has not been used much. You can always tell the people who are just getting into a new activity, say hiking or fishing etc... They always have really new gear that somebody at the store told them was good or they are using the outdated gear from their grandpa. They have not taken the time to make the gear perfect for them. You can always tell the duffer or the weekend warrior by the gear they use. In battle, improperly working gear could be the difference between life and death.
I want to be a person who has the fully functional armor and who is ready for battle. I don't relish battle or wake up thinking I need to crush some demons face in order for my day to be a success, but if it come to that, I am ready to do that in gear that has been fitted and tested and well used by me.
Are we Christians who have the overriding faith that God is bigger? Just because we have been called to ministry (Ignite leaders) doesn't mean that the work is done. We are like the people who have been issued our armor, now we need to get to work. The spiritual battle here in Tacoma is huge and we cannot back down. The weekend warrior won't go out and fight if it is raining or if they feel a little pain (from an old war wound, to be sure). The seasoned professional will battle through any odds. We are called to a full time ministry here on campus, whether we know it or not and we need to press through the little things that hold us down and rise up to the big things that God is calling us to.
Pastor Terry in Ketchikan said it very well when he talked about C (or Sea) level Christians. They can get by with living in a compromising situations and compromising their faith, God has grace and forgiveness. But when you get to the B level or A level, you will have to make some serious commitments. If we rise to this level and we don't begin to clean our lives up, we begin to take His grace and forgiveness for granted. We also allow a door to be opened for satan to come in and have his way in our lives and in our ministry. We have been chosen to be a higher level of Christian than we were and I know that is our heart. Lets go for it and not hold back or be held back...
Much love to everyone.
No really I mean it, I love you all
Happy Birthday to ME!!!
I got back from Alaska on Wednesday night (after a 2 hour plane delay) and I have noticed some really interesting things. In Ketchikan, I feel like there is an abundance of faith. People believe that if they pray for their friends, they will get saved; if they cry out to God long enough, He will step in and alter the situation to His glory. I find that I lack that here sometimes. I tend to look more toward the thing I am doing and less to the thing God is doing. I feel that there are many things that God will ask me to do for Him, but instead of saying to God, "Look at what I am doing for You" I should be saying, "I did what You asked, what is next?"
The place of waiting and trusting the Lord is where I need to be and where our ministry needs to be.
The Lord showed me a cool picture (I know how you feel sometimes Joy, because this is hard to convey properly). We were at the prayer meeting in Ketchikan on Tuesday night and about 80+ people were there. We listened to this cool soaking prayer thing, I don't know who it was by but it was very cool. There was a part where he talked about the room of intercession in the heavenlies and it floored me!!! I was standing in the back and I saw a picture of a person in the spiritual armor of God. This armor was very functional and well used. The armor was in really good repair and the person was ready for battle and experienced in warfare. The armor was customized and was perfect for the individual, allowing them to move freely and effectively. I am reminded of a verse in Song of Solomon 3:7-8. The people who wear this kind of armor are people who have been in the wars and have seen things most people have not.
Compare this to other people who just went to the store and bought their armor yesterday. It is shiny and new and it is strong enough, but you can tell it has not been used much. You can always tell the people who are just getting into a new activity, say hiking or fishing etc... They always have really new gear that somebody at the store told them was good or they are using the outdated gear from their grandpa. They have not taken the time to make the gear perfect for them. You can always tell the duffer or the weekend warrior by the gear they use. In battle, improperly working gear could be the difference between life and death.
I want to be a person who has the fully functional armor and who is ready for battle. I don't relish battle or wake up thinking I need to crush some demons face in order for my day to be a success, but if it come to that, I am ready to do that in gear that has been fitted and tested and well used by me.
Are we Christians who have the overriding faith that God is bigger? Just because we have been called to ministry (Ignite leaders) doesn't mean that the work is done. We are like the people who have been issued our armor, now we need to get to work. The spiritual battle here in Tacoma is huge and we cannot back down. The weekend warrior won't go out and fight if it is raining or if they feel a little pain (from an old war wound, to be sure). The seasoned professional will battle through any odds. We are called to a full time ministry here on campus, whether we know it or not and we need to press through the little things that hold us down and rise up to the big things that God is calling us to.
Pastor Terry in Ketchikan said it very well when he talked about C (or Sea) level Christians. They can get by with living in a compromising situations and compromising their faith, God has grace and forgiveness. But when you get to the B level or A level, you will have to make some serious commitments. If we rise to this level and we don't begin to clean our lives up, we begin to take His grace and forgiveness for granted. We also allow a door to be opened for satan to come in and have his way in our lives and in our ministry. We have been chosen to be a higher level of Christian than we were and I know that is our heart. Lets go for it and not hold back or be held back...
Much love to everyone.
No really I mean it, I love you all
Happy Birthday to ME!!!
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
The importance of prayer
Why do we neglect the importance of prayer? I have found at this church here in Ketchikan such a passion to pray and to see God move that it is uncontainable. They take prayer seriously here and they take the young generation seriously here as well. Charisa and I are going to a prayer meeting tonight at the church that about 70 people are expected to show up for.
Can you imagine a prayer meeting with 70 people?
We went and joined the pastors, interns and other leaders for prayer this morning and it was powerful. God is up to something big and it will be cool to see it. I have some great thoughts for prayer next year and I can't wait to talk about them with some of you...
See you all soon,
Can you imagine a prayer meeting with 70 people?
We went and joined the pastors, interns and other leaders for prayer this morning and it was powerful. God is up to something big and it will be cool to see it. I have some great thoughts for prayer next year and I can't wait to talk about them with some of you...
See you all soon,
Sunday, August 13, 2006
ALASKA!!!
I am in Alaska!!! Dude, I have always wanted to be here and now I am. I flew in on Friday night and the city is really interesting. It reminds me of Aberdeen in many ways, it is an old logging town, economically depressed, but God is up to something here. There is such a life in the church out here, the pastoral staff is running after Jesus and God is doing stuff. This church loves to pray!!! I mean really love to pray.
Charisa and I were scheduled to speak at the 8:30 service and we showed up at about 8. They started a prayer meeting before the service at 8:15 and it was amazing. The entire worship team, interns, pastors and everyone else who was there began to pray and pace the sanctuary. They would pass the microphone around and people would pray and Holy Spirit shows up. They prayed for a while and as people showed up and came into the sanctuary, they continued to pray. They went straight into worship at about 8:35 and that was really cool.
I got to speak and I talked about the generational blessing that God wants to do. People really received the word and I was happy with it. I was a little nervous because I have never spoken in front of a full church at a main service before. Maybe it was a mental hang up, I have a real respect for the main service. I need to do stuff like that more, I like to preach and I like to minister, I just need to practice. It went well though, I wish I could have laughed more however.
Charisa got up after me and spoke about some stuff that happened to her earlier in the fall. I had heard about what happened but I didn't know the entire story. Hearing her tell it was powerful.
I am having a great time here, but I can't wait to get home... I am meeting some really cool people here and I am getting a chance to hang out with them.
Nikki, we need to figure out when I am flying in on Wednesday. I will call you or post it here.
See y'all later...
Charisa and I were scheduled to speak at the 8:30 service and we showed up at about 8. They started a prayer meeting before the service at 8:15 and it was amazing. The entire worship team, interns, pastors and everyone else who was there began to pray and pace the sanctuary. They would pass the microphone around and people would pray and Holy Spirit shows up. They prayed for a while and as people showed up and came into the sanctuary, they continued to pray. They went straight into worship at about 8:35 and that was really cool.
I got to speak and I talked about the generational blessing that God wants to do. People really received the word and I was happy with it. I was a little nervous because I have never spoken in front of a full church at a main service before. Maybe it was a mental hang up, I have a real respect for the main service. I need to do stuff like that more, I like to preach and I like to minister, I just need to practice. It went well though, I wish I could have laughed more however.
Charisa got up after me and spoke about some stuff that happened to her earlier in the fall. I had heard about what happened but I didn't know the entire story. Hearing her tell it was powerful.
I am having a great time here, but I can't wait to get home... I am meeting some really cool people here and I am getting a chance to hang out with them.
Nikki, we need to figure out when I am flying in on Wednesday. I will call you or post it here.
See y'all later...
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
Talladega Nights
I have been working so hard for football these last few months, that it is good to see some reward for that. I have noticed that I am better prepared for this season than any other football season of my life, so I am happy. I want to go out with a bang, as it were. A word to the wise, don't eat potatoes O'Brien before doing an extreme workout. I ended up puking 5 times after my running workout on Monday. I made it through today's workout better, no puking, but I didn't eat very well today, lots of sugar and junky food that dosen't quite fill you up. Long story short, I need to eat better, because I have been doing really good and I have noticed the difference.
After a little team 11 on 11, we went and saw Talladega Nights, the ballad of Ricky Bobby. It was a stupid movie, but it was so funny at times. It was good to go out with the guys and hang out as well. Lots of laughs were had. The best part of the movie had Michael Clarke Duncan trying to dig a knife out of... well, you will have to go and watch it.
I finished my last shift of the summer today, and as expected, it was boring and long. I got to play Maggie's guitar though and that was fun.
I leave for Alaska in Friday and I am excited. I will try to post on the blog while up there, but no promises, it is Alaska after all. I heard they got electricity the other day for the first time, so I figure that HiSpeed internet cannot be far behind. Pray for me in Alaska...PLEASE!!!
I don't say this enough, but to all my friends and faithful readers, I love you. That is right, I love you. You guys all mean the world to me and I couldn't make it without you all.
After a little team 11 on 11, we went and saw Talladega Nights, the ballad of Ricky Bobby. It was a stupid movie, but it was so funny at times. It was good to go out with the guys and hang out as well. Lots of laughs were had. The best part of the movie had Michael Clarke Duncan trying to dig a knife out of... well, you will have to go and watch it.
I finished my last shift of the summer today, and as expected, it was boring and long. I got to play Maggie's guitar though and that was fun.
I leave for Alaska in Friday and I am excited. I will try to post on the blog while up there, but no promises, it is Alaska after all. I heard they got electricity the other day for the first time, so I figure that HiSpeed internet cannot be far behind. Pray for me in Alaska...PLEASE!!!
I don't say this enough, but to all my friends and faithful readers, I love you. That is right, I love you. You guys all mean the world to me and I couldn't make it without you all.
Saturday, August 05, 2006
Life is Good
I got to lead worship on Wednesday night and it was so much fun. We took over the main sanctuary at church and had a really full woship team. We had a rockin set and the kids even responded a little bit!!! Mark preached a great word and kids were really touched.
I put these links in my sidebar, but you should check them out if you get a chance... (thanks Joy!)
everystudent.com
waymore.org
Both of these sites are run by Campus Crusade for Christ and I was surfing on them for a little bit andi thought that they were fantastic!!! So many practical answers to tough questions and they all relate God's amazing love for us in each answer. Cool beans!!!
I got to go to Eugene, OR and visit Montana for a day. Weird traffic going down and silly construction projects just north of Vancouver coming back. While there I got to see Anna Palmquist, a fellow intern last summer. She is in a very hurting place right now, so pray for her please. I don't think her story needs to be on the blog, but pray for her.
Montana, Kat (his novia) and some other Onyx House peeps went to this place called Wildwood. It is probably 15 miles south of Eugene and it was so fun. It is a natural waterfal that has carved a pool about 30 feet deep in this rocky area. The sides of the pool are about 20-30 feet high and we spent all day jumping into the water and swimming in the pool. It was so pretty, if you are ever making a drive through Oregon on I-5 and you have some time to stop and swim, DO IT!!! It is a little off the beaten path, but well worth it.
I worked 13 hours of wonderful Campus Safetyness yesterday and it was fun. I got to work with my friend Callie and we talked about everything. It is amazing sometimes the things that come up in conversation when you spend over 8 hours with someone doing a fairly monotonous job. I also got an e-mail from my cousin Ken who is a Seargent in the Army, serving in Iraq. He is a linguist, so he dosen't kill people, but he is still over there. It was cool to catch up a bit with him and hopefully he will read the blog, so welcome Ken!!!
There is the update, I can't think of anything else to write about. Oh, except God is good... Yes He is. I don't have a specific reason to say that currently, I mean there is no recent blazing example of His goodness in my life, but He is good. He is reminding me of that and I like to remeber things like His goodness and His love.
Peace out.
I put these links in my sidebar, but you should check them out if you get a chance... (thanks Joy!)
everystudent.com
waymore.org
Both of these sites are run by Campus Crusade for Christ and I was surfing on them for a little bit andi thought that they were fantastic!!! So many practical answers to tough questions and they all relate God's amazing love for us in each answer. Cool beans!!!
I got to go to Eugene, OR and visit Montana for a day. Weird traffic going down and silly construction projects just north of Vancouver coming back. While there I got to see Anna Palmquist, a fellow intern last summer. She is in a very hurting place right now, so pray for her please. I don't think her story needs to be on the blog, but pray for her.
Montana, Kat (his novia) and some other Onyx House peeps went to this place called Wildwood. It is probably 15 miles south of Eugene and it was so fun. It is a natural waterfal that has carved a pool about 30 feet deep in this rocky area. The sides of the pool are about 20-30 feet high and we spent all day jumping into the water and swimming in the pool. It was so pretty, if you are ever making a drive through Oregon on I-5 and you have some time to stop and swim, DO IT!!! It is a little off the beaten path, but well worth it.
I worked 13 hours of wonderful Campus Safetyness yesterday and it was fun. I got to work with my friend Callie and we talked about everything. It is amazing sometimes the things that come up in conversation when you spend over 8 hours with someone doing a fairly monotonous job. I also got an e-mail from my cousin Ken who is a Seargent in the Army, serving in Iraq. He is a linguist, so he dosen't kill people, but he is still over there. It was cool to catch up a bit with him and hopefully he will read the blog, so welcome Ken!!!
There is the update, I can't think of anything else to write about. Oh, except God is good... Yes He is. I don't have a specific reason to say that currently, I mean there is no recent blazing example of His goodness in my life, but He is good. He is reminding me of that and I like to remeber things like His goodness and His love.
Peace out.
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