Friends

Man oh man! It literally has been forever since I have posted on my blog...its literally been since November. CRAZY!!!! I will definitely try to be more productive and share from time to time. Something that is brandy new with me and the Mrs....we now have a little girl and she is absolutely, positively cooler than the other side of the pillow! Its crazy how much you watch what you do so you can be better for someone who will learn everything from you...mercy.

Well I decided to blog because of some stuff that I have been noticing and plus a conversation that I had with my big sister this morning. To begin...lets talk about the playoffs. Random..I know. But we all know that Miami and Dallas are playing for the ship. I'm torn in who I am wanting to win because I really like Dirk, I always have and I think it would be great for him and Jason Kidd to get a ring before they retire...BUT...I would love for LeBron and Miami to win a ring just so he can shove it in Cleveland's face...more so the owner and all the other haters. He didnt abandon anyone! He had the choice to go and play anywhere and he chose to go to the place where he felt like he could win a ring...the ultimate goal of ANY NBA player. I feel bad for him because if he wins, people will say "oh you went down there just to lose" and if he wins they'll say "you couldnt do it by yourself you needed the help of other people." And this is where I begin. Its foolish to think that he could have won a ring without the help of other role players...MJ (although he is the greatest) had help. Kobe had help! They were fortunate to be surrounded by other players who could help support the load and make them even better than what they were.

So..what does this have to do with what me and my sister spoke about? I'm glad you are curious enough to see and read :). My sister wrote on facebook last night saying "what do you do when you've grown older and maturer and it seems some friends are stil in that immature phase? i think some people are afraid to grow up." That is a great question.

First we need to understand that not everyone we associate ourselves with are friends. We get confused with friends and associates. I see a friend as being someone who I can have relationship with...I'm talking true, share problems know they have our back relationships. How many people can we actually say that about? If we are honest with ourselves...not too many. Proverbs 27:10 says "Genuine friends must be cherished and not forsaken." I have several "friends" who have been forsaken...obviously they weren't genuine...I digress.

To answer my sisters questions, what do we do when the ones we have grown up with, even in their adult years, still choose to be immature (sinful) even when they know better? Ill answer it this way:

1. Proverbs 13:20 He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.

The Bible calls these individuals fools...OUCH! The truth hurts. We are also commanded to avoid people like this.

2.Proverbs 9:6 Forsake the foolish, and live; and go in the way of understanding.

3.Proverbs 14:7 Go from the presence of a foolish man, when thou perceivest not in him the lips of knowledge.

When we have been fortunate enough to be pursued by Christ, then we should come to the understanding that we arent supposed to group with these guys anymore. We definitely love them and pray that they come to Christ. But the paths are completely separate now.

We need to understand that we arent called to be friends with everyone Prov 22:24

And we definitely need to choose our friends wisely. We need to surround ourselves with people who are going to make us better, not worse Prov 27:17.

That brings me back to LeBron. He decided to seek out a location that was going to make him a better person, to get him to his ultimate goal...a ring. What goals do you have in life? What mark or legacy are you trying to leave? Are you surrounded by people who will get you to that goal or hinder it? John 15:13 we need to remember the ultimate friend...Jesus Christ

Japan!!!

Greetings from the land of the rising sun! I havent blogged in a while for i figured what better time to pick it up again then on some down time over here. The flight over here was horrible! Literally on the go for over 24 hrs...but boy is it worth it! Its literally like im in another world over here. Driving on the opposite side of the road is extrememly confusing but Im getting used to it every time we hop in the car. My friends Kyle and Joy are making this vacation the best. So far we were able to drive around the island of Okinawa.

Theres just pretty sweet views all over the island. Weve been able to check out one of the old castle ruins here. Apparently there are quite a few of them so hopefully we can check them all out. Ive never seen clear ocean water...makes me shudder to think whats in this nasty Atlantic Ocean I swim in :(. The few cliffs we were able to check out boast some awesome views! I will put some pictures on my facebook eventually.

Although there are so many awesome things that I have been seeing, something really sticks out in my mind the most. It isnt uncommon to drive a few miles (or kilometers) and see shrines all over the place. These shrines are used for ancestry worship. Kyle told me that many of these shrines cost as much as the houses that they live in, these people pay 2 mortages, one of which they dont need! Makes you realize how lost some people can be when it comes to spiritual matters. Not only that, but the superstitions around here are wild as well.

Im thankful for this opportunity to fly over seas and spend time with my good friends and my cool little nephew Isaiah. Hes gonna be a ladies man, just like his Uncle D :)

worth it

Well its 1:05 am and I am up way past my bedtime! But its all good, def gives me time to finally catch people up with whats going on my way. If you havent heard, i now work for PBC and we have been BUSY. God is doing some amazing things for the school and Im thankful to be apart of it. Its cool to see the new faces around and meeting back up with old friends, but it gets me thinking. What are these people really doing here? Thats a question that i asked myself while a student there and even now i sometimes think "was it worth it?" Ill come back to that soon.

Weve been going through a series called parentology at Salem Chapel and man, Pastor Josh is throwing it down. I cant help but leaving sunday morning services convicted about something...AND I DONT EVEN HAVE KIDS YET!!!! He spoke about rebellion this past Sunday and it hit me hard. Temptation comes in so many forms and the flesh is so strong. You cant help but find yourself rebelling from time to time and doing what the flesh wants. Like i stated last time, it isnt until you really start trying to grow spiritually that you find yourself fighting so much harder. But with any problem, there is a solution. Prayer. To fight any form of temptation we must pray and be grounded in what we believe in. without the proper equipment (prayer) how are we going to be able to fix our problems. This may be a stretch but God has given us the tools we need, lets picture Him as being Lowes. Hes given us prayer and His word, and fellow brothers and sisters in Christ who are wanting to grow as well, we'll call these our equipment (wood, hammer and nails in no particular order). With the proper equipment we can build a strong shed to cover our spiritual man and feed it what it needs so that it will continue to grow past a shed, and move to something bigger (one room apt), and then something even bigger (2 story house) and then even bigger (A MANSION). Like i said, a stretch, but i think i got the point across. We need to be using what God has given us to become better Christians and being able to fend off the flesh when the time arises! Dont get me wrong, there will be times when we fail. but how awesome will it be when the time comes when sin comes knocking and we can ignore it like it was never a big deal at all!

I come back to the question "was it worth it?" my college did help equip me with the knowledge i needed to help further my walk in the Lord. Without that education, i can guarantee you that what faith i did have would be minuscule to say the least. I hope that these new students come with a thirst and a willingness to grow and serve in whatever ministry God has called them too. Im def not saying that the only way you can grow spiritually is if you come to piedmont lol. It is my job to GET you there though, so if you want to help me..feel free.

Whats been going on

I figured I wouldnt have too much time to blog much, so Ill try to fill in everything that has been going on in a nutshell! It really isnt until you start to try growing in your spiritual life that you realize how awful a sin nature can actually be! It really is depressing how no matter how much good you want to do, you do the opposite. Here recently I have been trying to become a better husband to my wife because as a husband, I should be a leader and an example for her and my future children. Man is this hard!!!! Trying to keep up with my life (job, looking for grad schools, quiet time, personal reading, working out, keeping up with my family) and also being a leader and encouragement to Rachel with her endeavors (job, helping me in my stubborn ways, keeping up with her family and friends, issues that may be going on with her, etc.) is a very tough thing to do, especially when you have pride in the way and the things you want arent the things that God has for you. Its just so hard!!!

But then I think about what God is capable of accomplishing and when I dont think I can do, I know He knows I can. In time, I know I will be able to put my selfishness away and my pride and be the man that God has called me to be. I do thank Him for the many trials He has put me in, and though I may have failed from time to time, just like getting too close to a fire, I know not to do it again.

I hope this is an encouragement to people out there who feel that they just cant seem to do right. I feel like that all the time, but Christ never promised a smooth ride for the believer and its stupid to even think that. I just hope that you dont lose all hope because you can still have faith in the Hope Giver.

beginnings

Wow, I finally got a blog! I hope I can use this to help encourage people with my walk in life, my struggles, my triumphs, and my love of Jesus Christ. Just thinking about it all just makes me so excited!!! I really hope with this blog I can be a HUGE testimony to other young men out there like myself and possibly strike some good conversations...hope I can be witty enough to compete with all the great minds and crazy thinkers out there. Well, I will try to post when I can!!