Back in the word

So i have to admit that I have not read the bible in forever. I have gotten away from it, and the devil has used time against me. A day turned in to a week, and weeks turned into months. But Tonight i picked up the bible and opened it and God touched my heart and has given me strength. The Word gives me so much comfort i wonder how i ever left it.

I have decided to read a chapter a day and then blog about it. I really like to dive into the word and study what it is saying, and try to go the next level of understanding. Always trying to push myself to learn more about my Lord and Savior. tonight i started the book of Hebrews. Im not a scholar by any means so if anyone has anything to share please feel free to leave a comment or to let me know what i got wrong.

Hebrews 1

This chapter is really expressing how Jesus is superior to all the angles in heaven. Really giving us a picture of how great Jesus was. He is the image of the invisible God in verse three it explains that the Son is the radiance of Gods glory, and the exact representation of God. It still blows my mind that God sent his son to die for us. And some one who was perfect, and had no flaws. He wasn't hear for us, who are so filthy and need so much love.

Later on in the chapter it talks about how God is never changing, and how he is, and will always be. It says the heavens will change but God will remain the same. In a world that things are so fast, and stuff changes all the time. We can find peace in the fact that God always is the same, and always will be the same. He is our rock, and foundation. If we are to build upon a foundation how comforting is it to know that it will remain the same strong foundation for eternity.

Verse thirteen is by far my favorite part of this passage. It is explains how Jesus is set apart from angles. It says did God ever say to any angles to sit at his right hand and he will make enemies a footstool at his feet. That statement about how he will make enemies footstools at his sons feet is so powerful and shows the mighty power of our God. He is not a weak God. But one who will fight battles for us, and we have nothing to fear. He will turn our enemies into footstools. What a powerful God to have faith in.

In Christ

Support

Having people in my life that love me and support me has been one of the biggest blessings ever. I have cultivated friendships over the years with people who i know that will always support me, and encourage me in what i am doing. My parents have always made sure i succeeded in everything that i do. They were always pushing me to be a better person, and to work hard. I thank them so much for that, and for always telling me that i can do it.

The friends that i have always supported me wether it was coming to my intramural basketball games, my hardcore concerts, staying up late and talking, or just praying for me. I am so thankful for the people that i have in my life that have always been there for me no matter what.

Heather always encourages me and supports me no matter what. She is such a great supporter and encourager which is exactly what i need. She continues to build me up even when i fall short, and is always telling me that i can do it. When i feel like a failure she makes sure i feel like the greatest person in the world.

God has blessed me with relationships that will always be a part of my life and i am so thankful for that. As i sat on the beach today i continued to think about all of my friends and just thanked God for how each and everyone of them has blessed me. To know that i have friends that are always praying for me, and always thinking about me is the biggest blessing. Im so blessed and honored to have friends, and family like i do.

In Christ

New People

So when i moved up here i was pretty scared. I knew it was the right place to go, and it is exactly where God wanted me to be. I knew absolutely no one, and was worried about meeting people that were going to build me up in Christ. When bryan, and whit were still coming i was 100% fine with being up here because i would have two wingmen by my side. But now it was just me. It was intimidating. It was going to be a challenge but i knew that God wanted me to face this challenge head on. God was going to show me amazing things, and i was going to be a part of something that only he could plan.

Since i have arrived hear i have taken each day on step at a time. I have always made sure to be in constant contact with God. Always thinking about him, and trying to pray as much as possible. I wanted him to guide my steps and actions in every aspect of my life. The first week i was here i was lonely. I had no one really. When morgan came back from nepal i had one friend. One solid friend in Christ. I kept thinking that this was going to be it. I was going to have no relationships. Little did i know what God had planned for me.

I continued to pray about meeting people that i could develop strong relationships with. The kind of relationships i had built up over so many years at ECU. I wanted to talk about God, and about struggles. I wanted people i could grow with. I met plenty of people like that but they were all 30, and had kids. I couldn't really relate to them that well. Through all of this i continued to worry, and become burdened. It was not easy. I missed bryan, whit, matt, phil, aaron, strothman, heather, stevo, john, daniel, tessa, laura, ETC....... I missed all of those friendships rooted in Christ. I wanted to meet some guys that i could grow with. I felt like it was never going to happen. The guys i met i didn't mesh with, or they were too old, or they were not christians.

This week God has taken all of those worries and has thrown them out the window. Chad (the vannormans son) came home from california this week and we began to hang out. He introduced me to his close friends and they made me feel at home. Tonight we hung out again and chad, stewie, and I had a hour long conversation about Jesus, and our lives. It was exactly what i needed. I realized i was in the middle of God answering a prayer. I wanted to weep i was so overwhelmed with the holy spirit. It was such a blessing to be able to share with someone my age, and someone who was like me. Who faced the things that i was facing. God has been blessing me more, and more everyday. Im so lucky to be a part of this plan and i can not wait to be able to impact Gods kingdom in ways he only knows.

in Christ.

Thats so Indie

So i figured i would do something a little bit different than just update on my day to day life in this post. So many times i talk about not being mainstream, or be "indie". I have kinda made it into a joke. But I figured i would share my reasons for not wanting to be mainstream, and wanting to do things a little different.

Its not really about music at all. Yes, that is a part of it, but the main focus is just not supporting what the whole of society supports. I kinda think being a christian is one of the biggest forms of being "indie". I do not like how society, and the media put so much pressure on girls to look a certain way, and how guys are supposed to behave a certain way. I think so much of media supports that and i am guilty of helping some of that but thats the main reason i dont listen to music on the radio because its all about looking good, or getting drunk, and just being "cool". So i tend to stay away from that stuff. But being indie can also stem out to supporting a local place you like to eat. Being loyal to something or someone.

My walk with God has become more and more "indie" as i have grown. When i was young in my walk i did the things a "christian" was supposed to do. I read the bible, went to church, sang songs, the whole 10 yards. But i did not really grasp what the root of the gospel was, and what God wanted for my life. I am now so much more open to different forms of worship, and i respect where people come from in a totally different way. I see how real, and powerful the gifts of the spirt can be when they are used in the correct way. I see that God is not up in heaven keeping a score card of your sins, but is glorified in how you use what he has equipped you with. We have to use our talents to fulfill the great commission. If we can not accomplish that as christians than what are we doing? Why are we here? Are we not just wasting what God has given us if we go to church, and do the things that "christians" are supposed to do. Stray from the path of mainstream Christianity and embrace the indie side. Go somewhere no one has gone with no money and just let God provide and spread his love. Use your talents that he has given you in creative ways. God has given us all so many unique gifts, and if we are one body and can combine all of our talents who knows what we will accomplish.

I hope this all made sense seeing as i was just rambling on about a bunch of stuff. Hopefully it helped someone someway.

in Christ.

Life out of college

Since i have started to work and have been out of college its been quite weird. You don't find yourself staying up late anymore. I get up early, and go to bed early. I don't remember the last time i was up past 12, and usually im out by 11. Im never up later than 9 anymore, and it is for sure a different life. Im not opposed to this life its kinda nice. It is just so different from what the past four years of my life have been. I am still adjusting but it has been good. Heather coming and visiting has was great, and was so much fun. We went and walked around downtown norfolk, and ghent which was a really cool area. Im constantly thinking about places to live, and have a family which is crazy. I can not go to an area with out picturing Heather and I living there. Being engaged, and in a different place that is going to be your home for the next couple of years is crazy. So much has changed in my life recently. So many big steps in my life i feel are coming so quickly. God has prepared me though with a good support group and providing me with people who are willing to help in virginia beach.

in Christ.

Sorry for the lack of Bloggage

So i have not blogged recently just due to me going to ohio with Heather's family and working, and being tired. So i guess i have much stuff to keep my loyal readers (whit, heather, blake, and bryan) informed on.

So Ohio was great!!! The first night there i met all of heather's close relatives. Her grandpa Melvin was super awesome and probably one of the nicest people i have ever met in my life. We all ate pizza and judged which one was better. It sounds like torture i know but i some how made it through. I ended up eating around 8 slices of pizza so i could come to a conclusion. After pizza we all took part in a volley ball game it was very fun and i tired my best to not be over competitive. The next morning i proceeded to go to the annual basketball game that is played at the reunion. Like always the people automatically assumed that i sucked, then i proceeded to win every game that i played that day. I think i played around 8 games total. After that we went to the reunion where i was bombarded with tons of friendly people. I have never shaken so many hands in my life. I then ate about 3 pounds of food, and home made ice cream was also included. The next morning we sang and the Maravian church in the choir. The sermon was about being in the middle on situations and not taking a stand on one side or the other............. interesting church service. After church we left ohio and headed back for Raleigh i had a blast and cant wait to do it again in the future.

These past dew days in VA Beach i have been busy working. I have been learning how to open the restaurant, and met with a guy from the corporate office the past two days. I have been assigned readings, and a ton of different material that i need to start knowing for the manager training program.

The van normas daughter morgan is now at home so it gives me someone my age to talk to. We have played some cards and did random things together. She is really nice and its nice to have someone my age around. She is going to take me to the beach tomorrow for the first time which im very excited for. I feel like al i have done up here is work and read manuals. So it will be nice to actually experience the beach for once.

That is all i have for now, and im going to start trying to blog about more important things like Jesus and my walk with him. I just have not been reading much lately so i need to fix that.

In Christ.

Favorite Memories!!

So i would usually write about my day and what happened, but nothing really happened exciting today so i thought i would recap some of my top memories of the past 4 years. So here we go!!

1. Well without a doubt it would be getting engaged to Heather!!! On that day i asked the love my life to be with me forever. I dont know what could top that, besides us actually getting married in a year lol.

2. Living with Whit, and Bryan was so so much fun, and made my college experience amazing. We went through alot together including bad roommate situations, career choices, broken hips, and many laughs. When i look back at college i will always remember those days in apartment 202, or 203

3. Meeting Matt Kucinich was for sure something that will stick with me for a while. We became such great friends, and have built a friendship that will last forever. It was interesting seeing the way Matt did things, and how he tried to explain himself when he would come up with these elaborate plans.

4. Sophomore year at sun-chase was probably the year that i will look back on the most. So much happened that year. We always had people over playing awesome games, i met heather, started young life, whit turned his life toward Christ, i felt like i didnt do any school work, and those memories from that year will always stick with me. All of the laughs that we had in that apartment, and all of the people we had over. I mean we had a intramural basketball team banquet in that place. Pretty amazing!!!

5. Young life will be a part of my life forever, and i know that i will always be involved some how and some way. I complained about it so much, but i knew that God was calling me to serve those kids. I met so many great friends through that ministry, and have had so many memories at the young life camps.

Well if i kept on going i could sit here all night long. But these 5 memories are some of the best and of course there are many many more. So many people impacted and changed my life in college, and i want to thank every single person that has had an influence on my life by either smiling at me as i walked by, or listening to me scream my lungs out on stage. Love you all!!

In Christ.

My career begins!!!

At ten o'clock this morning i stepped behind the counter of Jersey Mike's for the first time in my life. Before this moment in time i always was on the other side ordering my subs and cheese steaks. But now i was in the a land flowing with cheese, assortments of meat, fresh tomatoes, and delicious cookies!!! I guess you could say that i was in sub heaven. My first task was to learn how to wrap a sub. I got a sub made of only lettuce and proceeded to wrap it 50 times. I felt confident after this and was ready for live action. So i took my station hands prepared for battle, and sure enough a flood of people came pouring into the store around noon. I felt i handled my self pretty well. I did not mess anything up, and only wrapped a few subs bad. I then tried to make myself as useful as possible with the little knowledge that i had of the business. This resulted in me taking part in the dirty jobs. I mopped, cleaned dishes, swept floors, and took out the trash. All of these actions won over my coworkers and by the end of my sift i have to say that i won the respect of my fellow sub colleagues. Usually people training do not receive any share of the tips in the tip jar. They said that they liked me, and i was a hard worker so i was rewarded with 3 dollars in tips. It wasn't about the money, it was more the fact i had one their respect (paul walker from fast and the furious) I then enjoyed a club supreme mikes way with everything on it. It was amazing.

Hopefully this post made you laugh a little and gave you the insight on what my day was like. It was exciting and i am glad to share it with you!!

In Christ

Getting my footing

So this was the second day in my new home. I went to church with the Van Normans (the family im staying with currently) and it was really great. I really needed it. It feels as if I am in a world of uncertainty right now with all of the changes that are going on in my life. Too go to church and be with God and be reminded that he is never changing was really a blessing. The Van Normans are making me feel very welcomed, and i am so thankful for that. Im nervous about meeting new people still but i know that God will provide me with friendships that are deep rooted in faith.

Tomorrow is my first day at Jersey Mike's!! Im very excited about beginning my new career. I hope that i am able to pick up everything quick and learn the job without any problems. Marsha gave me a book to read tonight, and im anxious to start it. Its called walking with God by John Eldredge. It seems like it will be an enjoyable read and i have a ton of extra time on my hands so i should have time to read it. That is all for now. Nothing too amazing has happened but keep reading and i will be updating you on my life.

in Christ

One chapter ends, a new one begins

The past four years of my life were probably the best four years of my 22 year old existence. I met friends that I met friends that I will be friends with forever, and experienced God in new and amazing ways. I just graduated from ECU, and I am now embarking on a journey in Virginia Beach. I have never been up here, I don't know one person who lives here, and to be honest I am a little scared about what the future holds. All i know is that God wants me here and I am going to go where he tells me to. I am working towards owning, and operation my Jersey Mikes. I start work behind the counter on monday and im pretty excited. I just recently Got engaged to the most wonderful women in the world, and I'm very excited to see what God has planned for me the rest of this year.

Im very sad that I have to leave my friends in Greenville, NC but that is part of life. It will be awesome to come back and visit. I'm hoping that many of my friends will be able to make the drive up here to visit as well. Tonight is my first night up here and it is pretty crazy that this new chapter of my life is beginning.

As i close the old chapter I look back on so many amazing memories that I have built over the past four years. Anyone that has been a part of my life in these past years just know that you will be a part of my life forever!

in Christ.