...A Good Book...

So far on my winter break from school I have been reading The Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne; I am only 3 chapters through it and it is already blowing my mind.

No lie, what Claiborne has been talking about in his book has been dead on with where I feel God leading me in my spiritual walk lately...

He has shared how when he was in college, much like myself, he had this struggle with how church was being done and did not agree with most of what he saw in traditional churches, much like myself.

In the latest chapter that I read he talks a lot about how we, as Christians, are now the Christ to the world, which has been on the forefront of my mind as well.

The verse that really stands out to me with this idea of literally being Christ to the world is Galatians 2:20
"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."
What if we lived out this verse in our lives??
Every day??
What if we simply just believed this verse??
Wow!

Green Pastuers Vacation...day one

I'm calling it Green Pasture Vacation because of it reminds me of Psalm 23 and how in Psalms 23 it says, "The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in GREEN PASTURES"
when i hear the words green pastures i think of when I was growing up and my family had some cattle (cows) and whenever we would let the cows have more field to eat from they would roll around and eat and sleep and never leave their new pasture spot. And it always seemed that whenever we would allow them out there they would gain some extra weight as well.
That is what i hope will happen for my heart this trip.
I hope that this trip is going to bring some extra food to my spiritual life...I NEED IT!
I don't necessarily need to gain physical weight but i am in desperate need of some extra spiritual weight.

the first day on the trip that I'm calling "Green Pasture Vacation" has been a restful one thus far...
yesterday was the long van ride to Nashville...i filled most of that time up with some extra sleep as ricky had a good time annoying Mark...

Today is the start of the conference and, if I'm not mistaken, David Crowder is going to be kicking off the day...can't wait to worship with 5,000 other youth workers!

A verse that stood out to me this morning was "Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him." (Luke 15:1)
The challenge that hit my heart immediately after reading this verse was this: am i hanging out with people who are not like me? am i being intentional about getting to know not-yet-believers? i would have to say no to both of those questions. It seems more and more each day that God is calling me to be in more relationships with those who do not know Jesus yet...

Fill me up Father!
I am nothing without You!
Use me!
Make me more like your Son, Jesus Christ!
and please...Increase my faith!!

Faith Like a Child...

What if we had a literal faith like a child??
What would that look like??

What if we truly believed that Jesus lives inside of us??
What if we seriously believed that concept??
The same God who conquered death, gave the blind sight, and had a love that never ended lives inside of His followers!!!
That thought alone gives me chills up my arm...

Now...
think if we lived out this truth in our daily lives...
what would that look like for us??

I know for me it would mean having more faith...
it would mean living like there is no tomorrow...
it would mean living a radical life...
a life of sacrifice and selflessness...


What do you think?
What would it look like if you had a faith like a child??
What would your life look like if you fully believed that Jesus lives inside of you and is yearning for you to let him take control?? from the inside out...


The apostles said to the Lord "Increase our faith!" (Luke 17:5)

Trying Too Hard..

I think I try too hard sometimes...
I start to think that I need to do things in order for God to be present in my life...
I start to believe that if I'm not being solid in my devos that He can't use me...
I'm starting to wonder now if it's my own fault that I can't feel God at all times in my life...

But alas I remember...
I remember that it is not about me...
it's not about what I've done...or not done
I start to remember that He has everything under control...
I can't change the Creator's plans...
and I definitely can't hinder them...
no matter how bad I screw up...

Thank You God! For always being my God. For giving me the opportunity to serve you through youth ministry. For giving me second chances. For the friends I have that continually challenge me...whether they know it or not...

life in transition...

God is on the move again in my life.
A time of transition is approaching as summer comes to a close.
I'll be living in a new place. A new community.
A new job is on the horizon (even though I don't know where that is quite yet)
And even new ministries may be down my alley.

God I ask for Your wisdom. I ask that you would guide my decisions and keep my mind clear.
I give You full control! And I ask that Your will be done, not my own.
You are an amazing God and I thank you for this season of my life!!

my prayer this Sunday night...

God!
Sometimes I don't know what you're doing...
Sometimes I think this isn't a good idea...

But I know You have everything under control...
I know You have a plan...

I ask that You speak through me to these kids...
I ask that these kids would see You and not me...

Give me passion!!
Give me energy!!


Let Your will be done!
not mine..

the summer so far...

It has been a very interesting summer so far.
It started out with a lot of expectations and a lot of energy.
We're just about half way through the summer and already so much has happened.
There's been a road trip from California to Michigan with Chrissy.
A camping trip with my camp kids at Camp Geneva.
An awesome 4th of July weekend.
Camp Rock (mon - thur)
Good times with family and friends the whole time as well.

This summer has definitely been full of "unexpecteds"...
It seemed that many things this summer were going to be as close to perfect as possible..
but God has proved my assumptions wrong again...

I seem to always get caught up thinking that my life is supposed to be easy and always the way I want it.
Then God always seems to smack me in the head and say, "Joe! you know this is not about you right? I have everything under control. Stop thinking you know best! because you don't."

I am still working on remembering that God knows best and that I am always in need of a little more faith.

Hope you all are having a great summer so far.

Keep seeking the Kingdom first!

Joe

One flight and one lady's story...

The first part of my trip out west was an interesting one. I was running on 3 hours of sleep and feeling a little sick. But God placed an elderly woman in the seat next to me and my curiosity got the best of me. I asked her a few questions and I ended up hearing her life’s story before we landed in Minneapolis. She shared about her family mostly and how she hadn’t seen her son in 16 years before this trip. She was such a happy lady and she found so much contentment in the simple things of life. She didn’t brag about having money or a fancy car or the newest cell phone or anything, instead she boasted about her relationships and the people she loved. All I did was listen; I maybe said ten words total the whole flight, all of that listening made me wonder though…
What am I boasting in?
What am I finding value in?
In school?
In my job?
In my relationships?
In God?

It was obvious that this older lady valued her relationships, as that is all she talked about.
I pray that I value my relationship with God the same way that lady valued her relationships with her family. I hope that it’s obvious that I am His child and that I love Him more than I love myself.

my prayer for tonight...

God,
I thank you for this life you have given me...
You are such an awesome God...

I pray for my friends...
Guide and direct their lives...
provide for their needs...
speak to their hearts and be real in their lives...
convict their hearts..

I pray for my family...
Help my family be humble...
give them the strength to get through the day...
work in their hearts...
open their minds...

I pray that you will help my faith grow...
Help me grow into the man you've created me to be...
Help me love others, because I know I can't love them on my own...


I love you Father!
You are so good!
I don't know how I've done it without you before..
You are our all in all.

Amen.

the first night back...

The first day back home has been an interesting one...

It was good to be with my family and just hang out with them for most of the day...

but then I was reminded of the darkness that this house has...

It's like i can sense that Satan has some control over certain people in my family...

and that is tough for me to see...
and hear...
and it's tough for me to remember...

I don't like remembering...

but at the same time it's so awesome to see where God has taken me from and put me today!



Thank you God for what you've done in my life,
may you do the same for my family...

the weekend that was...

It's been a wild last week in my life..

I went from thinking I had an internship to not having an internship to being jobless for the summer to all of the sudden being offered a job I already declined earlier in the year to taking that job...

It's crazy what can happen in a week...

Last weekend was pretty intense for me...
I fasted 2 out of 3 days and was in constant prayer the whole time...
I was searching for God to speak..
And He did...
I had to sit in solitude for like 3 hours just meditating on The Word...

I did things this weekend I usually don't do and I had faith that God would speak...

These are just some things that I put in my notebook throughout the weekend...

----------------------------------------

I crave the easiest path through life, but I yearn for my Father even more.

Am I willing to serve God no matter what? Even if I feel uncomfortable? Even if it's not my first choice of service?

Am I willing to simply love the people God places in my life? Or am I trying to choose which people I want to love?

"God has always connected our relationships with Him to our relationships with one another." - Francis Chan

Joshua 1:9

"As you conquer your territory... do not be alarmed... these things must happen...His plan is taking place" Pastor J.R. Pittman

God's will is not my will sometimes. Why do I think I need to be comfortable in order for it to be God's will? Maybe because for so long I've been comfortable in my surroundings. I asked God to stretch me and this is how He is doing it, by making me feel uncomfortable, by making me step out in faith.

Being uncomfortable = using my faith
Am I really wanting to use my faith??

Joshua 1:9 (again!!)

control issues

I sure do have some control issues!!! I don't know what my deal is...
Probably a lot of it has to do with not being in the Word as much as I need to be...
I feel like I can take control of things on my own power, but every time I start to take control without God's help things start turning sour.

God,
I need you to take control!!! I'm sick of failing at life just because I think I know what's best. You are my Savior and I believe you can save me from myself. Take my pride! Take my selfishness! Take my relationships! Take everything I do and let it be glorifying to You!!!!

"...loved him as he loved his own soul..."

I was reading 1 Samuel 20 tonight and was challenged by the story that this chapter talks about...

In case you're not familiar with 1 Samuel 20 let me tell you what it's about...

David is a wanted man...
he is wanted by King Saul...
but King Saul's son Jonathan is best friends with David and does not want to see his friend die...
So the friends make a promise to each other...
Jonathan promises David that he will not die, but that he will do whatever it takes to save his friends life....

It's friendship at its finest...

there is a verse that really stuck out to me and it goes something like this...
"Now Jonathan caused David to take another vow, because he loved him; for he loved him as he loved his own soul."

to think that these two friends can have such a great friendship really challenged me to consider my "friendship" with God...

Do i love God as much as my own soul??

Am I putting God above everything else in my life??

Am I giving God each day??

Am I allowing God to be able to use me or am I stuck in selfishness??

My prayer is that I can love God so much that there is no way I can find happiness in anything else this life offers....

greater things??!!

I was really hit hard by this passage this morning...
It definitely made me think about my motives and request towards God...

Jesus is speaking here...
“I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father. You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father. Yes, ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it!"

to think that those who believe in Jesus can do things even greater than He did...

When i think about that it makes me question how deep my faith is...
Am i fully aware of what God can do through me when I completely give my total self to Him??

My hope and prayer is that my faith will grow more and more every day...
I want to see miracles happen! I want to be used by God in such a way that there's not doubt in others mind that I am a Jesus follower!

God,
Use me. Make my faith stronger. Let your will be done.

"Without Me you can do nothing"

Humbleness is something God has been trying to teach me...
I have a tendency to think I can do it on my own...
I start to think "I don't need help"...

Last night I was reminded of something though, and it has been pounding on my heart all day today too...

Jesus said,
"Without Me you can do nothing"
(John 15:5)

As I read those words it started to dawn on me that there are things in my life that I think I can do without Jesus being in control.
I think that I can handle it and Jesus doesn't need to take care of this or that...
"I got it!"
That's what I think...
maybe I'm crazy
or maybe you do that too...

I know that after I read this passage of Scripture and started praying about what it is that God was wanting to have control of I started to really feel convicted that He needs to be taking care of some more things...
things that I used to think I could take care of..

I can't take care of those "little" things on my own anymore...


God,
I pray that you take control of the things in my life that I don't think I need your help in. I know that without you I can do nothing, so i ask that you invade my life and take away my pride...
I need you Father! Be my everything!

during the hardships and trials...

As i was doing my devos today, here in Wisconsin, I came across this passage which i seemed to have forgotten...
It was really challenging to me to think about and put into practice myself...

2. Corinthians 6
We put no stumbling block in anyone's path, so that our ministry will not be discredited. Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left; through glory and dishonor, bad report and good report; genuine, yet regarded as impostors; known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed; sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything.

I hope that when those tough times come around I will remember those promises God has for me and that even though life will seem impossible sometimes i need to remember that by the Holy Spirit and sincere love God will provide!!

faith??

it seems that God is trying to work on my faith these days...
there are certain things in my life that seem to be needing some extra faith these days...
then, on top of that, God has laid the story of Abraham on my heart as well, and how Abraham had such amazing faith in God and His plan for him...

I know it's easy to underestimate God and put Him in a box, but I hope and pray that, daily, my faith will grow...

back to the basics

tonight i was reading through some underlined verses i have in my Bible and i was refreshed as i read this verse...

"Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself." Phil. 2:3

This verse has be my "life verse" for some time now, but recently i had forgotten about why this has been my life verse.

It's so easy, for me at least, to get caught up being so selfish sometimes...
I start to think about myself above others and i start to put other things ahead of God...
i hate it when i find myself in this position...
i feel so conceited...

But i was definitely refreshed to think about how tomorrow and the rest of this week and month and school year i'm going to make a solid effort to put God and others ahead of myself....

the way it should be!!!
:)

Hollywood Blvd.

what a crazy past 24 hours!!!

we arrived in California last night and the weather was gorgeous, as I expected, what I wasn't expecting was waiting for luggage for an hour and a half...lol...it all worked out :)

After getting a good nights rest at my friend Julissa's Grandparent's house, where there was a lemon tree in the front yard, we headed toward Hollywood...
the sun was shining and it felt amazing...way better than Michigan :)

right as we parked there on Hollywood Blvd. I could tell there was a darkness to this place...not a physical darkness, but a spiritual darkness...it became pretty evident why as we were just walking the streets like the tourist we were...
one particular sad thing about this street was that there was like porn shops every other building or so...then...on top of that...there was about 10+ "smoke shops", where they sold drug paraphernalia.

it reminded me of the "gutter" that Craig Gross speaks about in his book called "The Gutter"...this was the place people thought they could find "happiness"...drugs, sex, greed, celebrities...it was all there...

i tried to ignore most of the things i saw in Hollywood, but there was a group of guys that really caught my attention...they were across the street and they had big signs...signs that said "Repent and Believe in Jesus or Burn In Hell!!"...they had about 3 of these signs that said something to that effect...
they were just yelling and screaming at a group of people that were outside of a famous theater..they were yelling that "all of them were going to hell" and that "God hates everything they did"...

this extremely bothered me..so we (Amanda, Chrissy and I) proceeded to the other side of the street where this was all happening...
i didn't want to get mad, but i knew i would if i went up to them without some "accountability"...
not too long after were standing in this crowd Julissa and Landon (Julissa's boyfriend) come find us...Landon imediately walked over to these guys trying to understand why they were yelling at everyone and being so harsh...
after i said a quick prayer i descided to join this "conversation" as well...

i did more listening than arguing with these men, but they were condemning people so harshly...
there was one particular women who was dressed as Marylin Monroe and one of the gentlemen screaming decided to judge her in front of everyone...
he was telling her that she was a "slut" and that "because she was dressed that way she was going to hell"...

the lady claimed to be a Christian and yelled back at him...to no avail though...the man was so ruthless and had so much hate in his words that he was making Jesus and the Gospel message look like it was only for perfect people...
i didn't understand...
my heart went out for this women as she was slammed in front of maybe a hundred people...

after we finished our conversation with the gentlemen and walked back down the street we came across that women who was dressed as Marylin Monroe...we stopped and talked with her, apologizing for those gentleman's hateful words...
she shared with us some of her story of where she's come from and the situation she is in now...
before we finished our conversation with this lady we asked if we could pray for her...right there...on the busy sidewalk of Hollywood Blvd.
she agreed to our request...
as we prayed for this women and brought her request before our Father I felt a peace come over us...something i've never felt before...
there was something different about what we were doing and how we were doing it...it was such a conviction on my heart..
a conviction to reach these people...whether tourist or venders...or the homeless...all of the people on that street were carrying around such great darkness...

after all our confrontations my hands were shaking...i was mad...mad at those men who thought they could save people...and also felt such a spiritual battle, not just in that lady, but on that whole street...

as we got back to the car i felt so weak...so drained...
but i knew we had done a great thing...

i like to think that we were the "light" to Hollywood Blvd. today :)