Remembering Unexplainable Peace

During the last two weeks, I have been blessed and distracted with my two wonderful daughters (a newborn and an almost 2 year old), but I often remember that one year ago, my life changed forever. I received the most difficult phone call I have ever received, and February 6 will no longer be a normal day on my calendar.

I first received a text from my mom that my dad had returned from his typical lunchtime bicycle ride and didn’t feel well. They were taking him to the hospital just to see what was going on. I say his typical lunchtime ride because my dad rode his bicycle often and was very active. He was healthy, arguably healthier than myself. But this day was different. I started to wonder if that was the last thing I would ever hear about my dad. I wondered if I would ever get to hear his voice again. But God gave me a peace about the situation. I knew that my dad trusted in Jesus Christ for salvation, so if I never got to talk to him again on this earth, I would see him again in eternity. I began to pray that either God would heal my dad or that my dad would not be in pain and would at least know he was not alone.

While I was praying, my phone rang but I didn’t hear it until the last ring. I looked and saw a missed call from my dad’s cell phone. Immediately, I got a second call from my dad’s phone. I hoped it was him calling to say he was okay and just wanted to let me know. I answered, but a woman’s voice was on the other end. She asked to confirm with whom she was speaking and then asked if I was Steve’s son. She went on to ask more questions about if I was in Auburn or if any other family was in Auburn. I told her my brother was in Birmingham but no one was closer than that.

I was getting nervous and I stopped at the next words she said. She said she was sorry but that my dad had passed. I had no idea what to say. She continued to explain some of what had happened, and then we got off the phone. Next I had to call my mom and let her know. I didn’t even know how to tell her other than getting straight to what they told me.

After talking to my mom and then my boss, I drove home and called my wife. We prayed more and when I got home, we hugged for a long time. Then God gave me a peace again. My dad was in Heaven. How could I possibly be upset?

When two of our church’s pastors came over a couple hours later, we were able to pray and grieve. But we also enjoyed talking about my dad and telling stories about him.

A few weeks later, I even found out that God answered yes to my original prayer from February 6. My mom was able to talk to the fire chief at the City of Auburn, and he said my dad had talked to him before going to the hospital. The fire chief also said that a medic from the fire department rode in the ambulance with my dad, and he told us that my dad was acting like his usual self on the ride. He was smiling and making jokes.

Over the following weeks and months, we received so much love from family and friends. We have been grateful for all the people God had placed in our lives. We also found out that we were having our second baby daughter, but we had the realization that she would never know who my dad was other than through pictures and stories. When she was born just under two weeks ago, I was overcome with emotion, not just because we had another baby, but because I missed my dad with a passion. But I still have peace because I know that one day I will see him again in Heaven with Jesus Christ. I hope that others can experience this peace that I have had. It doesn’t make it easy when a family member dies, but we still have an assurance that this isn’t the end.

If you don’t know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior but you want to, please, please, please, reach out to me. I don’t want you to lose someone or someone to lose you without having the hope, joy, and peace that I have.

Summer Memories 2013

The summer of 2013 was filled with many memories.  It started when I came home in May from my first year in college.  College is an entirely different life than anything before that.  You still have classes, but most likely, you are living somewhat on your own, in a dorm, apartment, or house on or near campus.

In my first year, I realized I was wrong about some things.  I received the first B of my life in my physics lab.  I came to understand that I don't have to be perfect though.  I tried as hard as I could, and the professor decided that is what I deserved.  Now I know that as long as I try as hard as I can, I should be happy.  God calls us to work at everything we do wholeheartedly as if we are doing it for God and not earthly masters.  So, if we work wholeheartedly towards everything for God's glory, He will be happy with us, and if God is happy with me, I will be happy.  We are not called as Christians to be perfect, for no one is perfect but God.  We are called to be holy, set apart.  Being content with working wholeheartedly for God is a step in the right direction.

Throughout this summer I worked at Windtree Golf Course for the third summer in a row.  I had a new job there though, and met a lot of new people.  This year, I split time between working in the pro shop and washing carts, running water, and picking the range.  I learned this summer that even on the hardest days, having a fun and loving group of people to work with, makes all the difference.  A few days this summer, I was having a bad day, and my fellow workers helped the rest of my day be great.  God always knows what we need.

I also got the wonderful chance to be a chaperone for my church's youth group when they went to camp.  We went to Union University for Centrifuge, and I absolutely loved being a chaperone.  Getting to see God work in the lives of middle and high schoolers was incredible.  I had three seventh grade guys in my room, and at night a few of the high schoolers would come in our room and talk with us for a while.  I could see how much they longed to grow closer to God.  Them opening up to me is probably the most amazing thing I've ever seen.

Over the summer, I learned more about how relationships can be complicated as well.  Some complications you will run in to over and over again, and some you will run into a few times or maybe only once.  I've seen and experienced a good bit, whether it is a friend and you both like the same person, age difference between you and that person, or that person may even already be dating someone else.  What you have to know is that only God knows if it will actually happen or work.  You have to trust God.

Now I am moved back into college.  I moved back in yesterday.  The day before, my brother drove into town to help take me back as a surprise.  I was really happy to see him, and it was nice to have him here when I moved in.  My parents and him helped me move in, and then we all went out to eat lunch together which was really nice.  My brother also gave me one of the coolest gifts ever, a Gandalf the White action figure.  Pretty awesome.  It now sits on my desk at school and reminds me of my brother everyday.

Thanking God for every memory and experience He gives me.  Til next time, stay classy.

Anything is Possible

I want to start this blog by stating that I really believe anything is possible.  We, as human beings cannot do everything, but with God, we can do everything.  There is no one and nothing that can stop us.  Romans 8:31 says, "If God is for us, who can be against us?"  If no one can be against us, including Satan, then there is not a single thing in the world that can hold us back.

We, as Christians, need to strengthen our faith.  Jesus said in Matthew 17:20, "Because you have so little faith.  I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move.  Nothing will be impossible for you."  We are the only ones standing in our own ways holding ourselves back.  I just saw one of my friends post on Facebook about faith, saying we need to start putting more faith in God because in our average, daily life, we put more faith in stoplights than in God.  He asked when the last time you doubted a stoplight was.  We don't.  We know the light will change, so we wait.  No matter how long it takes, we always know we will get a green light eventually.  Our faith in God should be the same, if not more.  He will always answer us.  His answer may be yes, no, or wait, but there is always an answer.  We just have to trust that His answer is the best thing for us.  And if the answer is no, then He will open another door somewhere else, not necessarily immediately, but He will lead us if we allow Him to.  Therefore, like the stoplight, we will get a green light from God eventually, it just might not be in the direction we thought it would be.  So let us all trust Him and His way for us, and follow Him with all of our hearts, souls, minds, and strengths.

Thanks For The Memories

This post is all about my favorite memories throughout high school.  It has been an interesting ride, making friends, losing friends, playing sports, having classes, moving, and so much more.  I have had a lot of fun in high school and would not give up that experience for anything.  High school seems to take forever to get through, but once you get to graduation, you realize how fast it actually goes by.

I started out in 9th grade at Gulf Shores High School in Gulf Shores, Alabama.  I had lived there since I was about 2 and a half years old, so I knew almost everyone in my school.  When I started high school, my brother, Tim Foote, was a senior in the high school.  He and I became best friends that year because we did many things together including being on the swim team and hanging out with friends.  This is my favorite memory from 9th grade.  I love my brother, and I'm so glad we got a year together in high school.

My 10th grade year, I was still at Gulf Shores High School, but I knew I was moving.  My dad had been forced to quit his job due to politics the year before and had been looking for a new job since then.  After either the first or second week of school, Tim moved to Birmingham, AL to attend Samford University for college.  Two days after that, my dad moved to Mt. Juliet, Tennessee, to begin his new job.  This year was very strange.  It is the only time I was old enough to remember all of us not being together.  I still had fun though.  This was my last year swimming in high school, and I had a hard time leaving the Auburn University pool after the state meet had concluded.  I didn't want it to end.  Another good memory from 10th grade was a guy's Bible study my friends and I had.  One of my friends wanted to go through the Every Young Man's Battle study book, which is a book about how to overcome sexual temptations while we live in the world around us.  We would meet every Thursday morning at 7:00 A.M. at the local Hardee's unless we decided to go to some other place for one week.  I love the guys that I went through the study with.  They are great accountability partners, and we were able to be open with each other.

I had two more good memories from 10th grade, the last year I had at my old school.  In my U.S. History class, we had a final project to either create a skit, movie, powerpoint, or paper over something that happened and was controversial.  My friends and I chose the Lincoln assassination, and made a video re-enacting it.  We had a blast making this video, and we all have a copy of it now.  The last favorite, or maybe just entertaining memory from 10th grade, is from the last day of school.  It was the last time I would be in Gulf Shores High School as a student, and the last bell had rung.  I grabbed all my stuff and started to walk out, when all of a sudden I fell right on my butt.  I was walking behind another kid, and we walked past a water-fountain that had some water on the floor in front of it.  I slipped and fell.  I couldn't believe it.  It's kind of a way to go out with a bang though.

We moved into our apartment in Mt. Juliet, TN, at 1:30 A.M. on August 1st.  I started school the next day and did not know my schedule yet.  I came to find out that you get your schedule the morning of the first day.  This made me even more terrified about starting at a new school.  That first day was rough.  In my fourth block, I was one of the first students in the room because my class before it was across the hall.  By the time everyone in the class was in the room, I had a bubble of empty chairs around me.  I immediately thought I would hate school.  Everything turned around though, and I loved my new friends and school.  My favorite memory from junior year, is easily Prom.  I asked a girl named Lauren from my church, and I had the time of my life.  I was so scared that I wouldn't dance and would be bored, but she got me out of my comfort zone, and I loved dancing!  After Prom junior year, I would dance all the time: in class, in the car, at church, in the halls, just walking around.

This moves us on to my senior year of high school.  I absolutely loved the majority of my senior year.  I was the captain of the golf team, co-captain of the ultimate frisbee team, and part of the vocal ensemble.  I danced in vocal ensemble almost every day.  I also joined the praise band at my church.  My favorite memories from senior year are Mustache Mondays, my choir trip to Atlanta, and senior Prom.  Grant McCoy, a friend of mine, made up Mustache Monday.  We would come to school on Monday with a mustache.  I was only able to do it a few times, but it was a fantastic idea, and I had a lot of fun with it.  My choir trip to Atlanta was great!  On the way down, we stopped in Chattanooga, TN, to go to the Tennessee Aquarium, UTC, and to see the play, The Mousetrap, at a local theater.  Then we drove through the night to Atlanta.  We participated in a choir competition while we were there, and on our last day, we spent a few hours at Six Flags.  I had so much fun on that trip.  I love the people who were in choir with me.  My senior Prom was just as good as the year before.  I went with a girl in vocal ensemble named Mikka.  We went with a big group of people and took pictures on a bridge before prom.  After prom, we went to IHOP with a couple friends.  We all had a blast that night, and I danced even harder than the year before.  I had to keep sitting down because I was so tired.

So those are many of my good memories from high school.  I'm sure I could come up with more, but this post is already long enough.  I love all my friends from both schools, and I wish I could see all of you more often.  We could reminisce.  My last comment will be how I chose the name for this post.  I am obviously thankful for everyone in my life and all the memories you have given me, but my 8th grade banquet was themed, "Thanks For The Memories."  So thank you for the memories everyone.

The Fruit of the Spirit is love...

Wow...well it's been a while since I last posted.  Life is busy getting ready to graduate from high school and enroll in college.  I guess I just have not had time, but I feel like I may not have had anything to say for a while.  But I have something to say now.

I want to talk about the Fruit of the Spirit and more specifically love.  Paul speaks of the Fruit of the Spirit in a section of scripture named "Life by the Spirit", which is Galatians 5:16-26.  In verse 16, he says if you live by the Spirit, you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.  If you are a Christian, this is what we should be aiming to do; we should be living by the Spirit so we bring glory to the name of God and do not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.

Paul says in verses 22-23, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  Against such things there is no law."  Then in verse 26, "Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other."  When I consider these verses, a couple things come to mind.  Firstly, I want to become that way.  As a Christian, that is obvious to me.  I want to live the way God tells me to live.  I want to live by the Spirit; therefore, I want to have the attributes (fruit) of the Spirit.  The second thing that comes to me is that Paul could have said "But the fruit of the Spirit is love" and just stopped there.  If we have love, we will have joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, and we will not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.  It is as simple as that.  We are not talking about any kind of love either.  We are talking about "agape" love.  This is the love that we associate with God.  God has a love that is unconditional; nothing can be done to make Him love us less, and nothing can be done to make Him love us more.  He loves us.  As Christians we try to be like God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit.  With that thought, why should we not love the way they do.  We should have an agape love towards everyone, and with that agape love, we will have the fruit of the Spirit.

Be Filled, and Be Different

The pastor at my church recently started preaching on the Holy Spirit.  I do not think I have ever looked at the Holy Spirit this way before.  I have found it really interesting, and I have begun to look at some things a little differently.  Much of this post is taken from my pastor's messages; he found these verses and preached on them. I took notes, and this is a lot of it.

The first week, the message was on whether the Holy Spirit is a person or a power.  He is a person!  Not a power.  He is very powerful though.  My pastor provided verses that prove that the Holy Spirit is a person.  He has characteristics of personality (1 Corinthians 2:10, 12:11; Ephesians 4:30) and person-hood (Revelation 2:7; John 14:26, 15:26, 16:13; Romans 8:26; Galatians 4:6).  We are to have a personal relationship with Him instead of just asking Him to do stuff for us, much like a power (the image depicted here is referring to something like a light switch, how someone can turn it on and off).  The Holy Spirit is not to be treated like a light switch.  We should treat Him the same as God the Father and Jesus Christ the Son.

When we have this personal relationship with the Holy Spirit, too, we will be different.  We will be devoted to being with God and His teachings.  We will have a love and desire to be in the presence of God (reverently, dancing, singing, lifting our hands, etc.).  The Holy Spirit can do so much, and after someone asks God to forgive them and asks Him into their life, the Holy Spirit comes and lives inside them.  This is why Jesus had to leave.  Jesus told the disciples that He was sending the Counselor to them, but if He did not go to Heaven, then the Counselor could not come (John 16:7).  The Counselor is the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is the Ultimate Promise of four things: encouragement, truth, power, and salvation.  Jesus spoke of the Holy Spirit as a helper (John 14:16) who walks right next to us through everything.  Jesus also spoke of the Holy Spirit as "the Spirit of Truth" (John 14:17).  Jesus said "He will guide you into all truth" (John 16:13).  In Acts 3:1-9, Peter heals a crippled man with the power of the Holy Spirit who was living in him.  The Holy Spirit can make a difference with His power, too; "but many who heard the message believed, and the number of men grew to about five thousand" (Acts 4:1-4).  And we are all saved, or given salvation, through "sanctifying work of the Spirit" (2 Thessalonians 2:13).

This past week's message on the Holy Spirit was about the differences in the Baptism and the Filling of the Holy Spirit.  Not once in the Bible, the Word of God, are we told, we must be baptized with the Holy Spirit, but we are under Biblical mandate "to be filled with the Spirit" (Ephesians 5:18b).  My pastor gave the analogy of when someone is drunk.  When someone is drunk, they lose their inhibitions, and they begin doing things they would not do otherwise.  We are to be "drunk" in the same sense with the Holy Spirit.  We are to give complete control over to Him, and allow Him to work through us to do things for the Lord, we would not do without His control.  Another difference is that the baptizing work of the Holy Spirit is a once-for-all operation, and the filling of the Holy Spirit is continuous.  We are filled over and over again.  Galatians 5:22-23 names the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  When we are filled with the Spirit, we will have and produce this fruit, but if we lose one of the fruits, we are not filled with the Spirit.

We are to all be born again, first born of water, then born of the Spirit (John 3:5).  We are born of the Spirit when we give our lives to Jesus Christ.  In that very moment, the Holy Spirit comes to indwell us; we do not have to look for Him (Romans 8:9-11).  Be indwelt with the Spirit and produce the fruit of the Spirit.  Be filled, or "drunk", with the Spirit and give Him control.  Have a personal relationship with Him and know that He has the power to encourage, provide truth, make a difference, and save.  If we all do this, WE WILL BE DIFFERENT, and the world could be different, too.

Voting

Yesterday, I voted in an election.  That was the first election I voted in that was official (not for school or something similar).  Being 18 years old brings some new responsibilities to me.  One of those responsibilities in my opinion is voting.  Everyone who is of the voting eligibility age has a civic duty or responsibility to vote.  Since we are supposed to be responsible and vote, we are also supposed to be informed.

There are ways for all of us to be informed.  Everyone, if not a very large majority of everyone, has access to internet, newspapers, magazines, or other places with political information.  People may say, "I don't have time." Well, I honestly believe you can always find time for it, even if it is just ten or twenty minutes for a couple nights. If you say you don't have time because of things in your life, like your kids for example, that is a problem in my eyes.  If you don't take the time to get informed, or don't vote at all, your kids will be the ones paying for it in the end.  The voting now will affect the next generation as well as ourselves.  I don't want my future children growing up in a world worse than it is now.  I believe that the way the world is now is pretty bad, and I can't imagine having to grow up a world worse than it is.

The actual act of voting is a very important responsibility.  Like I said, voting will affect us now and later on.  If something will affect you, why wouldn't you want a say in it?  After I voted, a lady working at the election came over and talked to me.  She thanked me for coming to vote and said it's good that I am voting.  She also said she hopes I continue to vote, be politically active, and fulfill my civic duty.  I found what she said next very interesting.  It was something I had talked about in my government class and am a firm believer of.  She said that so many people complain about what is going on the nation right now, and the first thing she says back to them is, "Did you vote?"  She told me that if they say no, she tells them don't complain at all.  You have absolutely no right to complain if you didn't vote.  You didn't try to make a difference if you didn't vote.  Then she told me that if they say yes, she tells them to complain all they want because they tried to make a difference and didn't get what they wanted.  I agreed with her 100%!  That was perfect.

With this, I hope that everyone votes and continues to vote every time they get a chance.  And I challenge you to be informed and make wise decisions.  I know that God will help you find the information you need to make the correct decision.  He will lead if you allow Him to.  So let's find out what God says the best thing is and go vote on that basis!

Politics

I woke up this morning so mad that I could not go back to sleep even though I was very tired.  I was mad because of politics.  Yesterday I got to see a lot in people, in my government class and otherwise.  This made me look back at what I have been reading in my Bible.  God has revealed so much to me this year.  Right now I am reading in Leviticus, and I have already learned so much just from the first few chapters.  Some people may say my beliefs politically are harsh or close-minded, but I am basing my beliefs off of the Bible.  God has taught me many of these things this year.  I know why I believe what I believe.  It means so much to me knowing that.

I would probably say that my general view of the American public today is that they have fallen away from God and the Bible.  Yet still, so many Americans including our current president, Barack Obama, claim to be Christians.  I do not know how people can say they are Christians, which means "Christlike," and believe what they believe, do what they do, and say what they say.  I am not saying at all that I am perfect, or perfectly like Christ.  I am so far from being perfect, but I do think you can tell the difference between someone who actually follows Christ and someone who just says they do.  I absolutely hate it when I mess up, and I know that I mess up daily, but I still do my best to at least believe what I know is right in God's eyes.  So if people ask me why I believe what I believe, it is because the Bible.  I hope that God will give me the courage and words to talk to people and explain this to people.  I also hope that I will continue to learn, and God will continue to teach me my beliefs and why I believe them.

My last thing to say in this post is a challenge for everyone who reads this.  I challenge you to figure out why you believe what you believe.  Not only in politics, but in all things.  And to people who consider themselves Christians: I challenge you to look at what you believe and see what the Bible says about that.  If we are to live like Christ, we should believe what He believes, too.  Does God decide what is right or does society?  For me, I will let God determine what is right in my life.

You Are Worth The Wait

This weekend my church youth group is having Disciple Now, otherwise known as DNow, which is a camp-like event held over a weekend.  All the students are separated by grade, and we have Bible studies with our group over a specific theme.  This year's theme is "True Love Waits."  "True Love Waits" is a study written by Dr. Richard Ross about having a life of purity.  In this study he stresses the importance of sexual purity, hence the name "True Love Waits."  He is referring to waiting for marriage to have sex.  I have grown up in the church, and I have and always will believe that God wants all people to abstain from sex until marriage.  When I get married one day, I will be the happiest man in the world if I can tell my wife she is the first person I will have sex with and she can say the same to me.  God made sex a good thing, and man corrupted it.  It was made for reproduction so we could inhabit the Earth like God told us to.

Like I said, I have believed this my whole life; I have believed in the promise to stay sexually pure.  This promise was a promise to myself, my future spouse, and most importantly to God, so I had to be reminded daily.  My older brother had gone to a "purity" event when he was in our church's youth group kind of like the "True Love Waits" study, and he had gotten a purity ring.  A purity ring is a ring you wear on your wedding ring finger, and when you get married, you give the ring to your spouse.  It represents your promise to them, and that you have kept that promise for them.  Giving them the ring symbolizes giving them your purity when you're married.  My sophomore year I decided to get a purity ring to remind me.  The ring I ended up buying was online, and it says purity all around it.  One of my favorite things about it though, is what is on the inside of the band.  It is the biggest reminder to stay pure.  Written is, "You are worth the wait."  Every time I see that phrase, I am reminded that my future spouse is worth waiting for.

I also went through a study with some of my close friends called "Every Young Man's Battle" that year.  I cannot wait for this weekend now; to go through a study on purity.  Our church's pastor is leading my group.  I hope to enjoy this weekend, and then after, I plan to lead a study with "Every Young Man's Battle" myself with some guys in my youth group.  God works in great ways, and I know in the near future some great things will be happening!

Instruction and Knowledge

I named my blog "he who loves instruction, loves knowledge" on Christmas day this past year.  I was sitting in the living trying to come up with a name when I thought about my favorite Bible verse.  Proverbs 12:1 says, "A man who loves instruction, loves knowledge.  But a man who hates correction is stupid."  That is not only my favorite verse but also one of my life verses.  Many times in my life I have thought I had all the answers.  I don't know why I would think that, but everyone has weaknesses.  Thinking I know what's going on is one of my weaknesses.  I first read this verse my sophomore year of high school.  I was reading through the book of proverbs, and one day I came across this verse.  As soon as I read it, I heard God speaking to me.  I knew I had made a mistake, and this mistake could be a big problem in my present and future life if I didn't fix or try to fix it.  Since then I've tried my best to always look to God to know where I'm going and what's going to happen. I have to love instruction from God, and I have to love the corrections He gives me.  I do not know what is going to happen tonight, tomorrow, next week, or even ten years from now, but God does and He will take me there if I follow.  That is one of my biggest goals in my life.  To listen to, accept, and follow God's instruction and corrections in my life.

In My Weakness, He Is Stronger

As I have mentioned in other posts, I have never been that good of a speaker or writer.  I have used this weakness as an excuse in so many situations, and I now realize these situations were opportunities for God to use me.  I do not necessarily regret my choices about not speaking in certain situations because I might not have realized that these were opportunities for God.  Since I did avoid these opportunities, God has shown me that in my weakness, He can be stronger and lead my life.  God brought me to this realization the other day.  It just came to me.  Moses told God he was not a good speaker and begged God to send someone else to lead the Israelites out of Egypt.  Moses trusted God, and God led him.  God used Moses to bring the Israelites out of Egypt because Moses followed God.  Now, I know I must do the same.  I am so happy God has brought this epiphany to me.  God has blessed me with another opportunity, and I plan to follow as soon as possible.  I cannot wait to see how God will use me now through school and other places in my life!  Never forget that in our weakness, God is stronger.

God is Working

I have realized so much in these past few weeks at church and on my youth group's jr/sr getaway that was this weekend. I just got home from it. We were at Tennessee Tech for Friday night and this morning to have Bible study, prepare us for college life, and talk to college students. In the past six months my life has changed so much. I feel like I have grown up a lot mentally and spiritually. The first place I've grown is in school. I study more now than I ever have, and I think this is definitely preparing me for college. Another place is spiritually. Since I started my One Year Chronological Bible, I have not missed a day. Today marks two weeks, and I am honestly not sure if I have ever read my Bible for two straight weeks. I am ashamed to admit that, but we all have faults, and that is definitely something I have struggled with my entire life. I would read in the morning before school, but then on Saturdays I wouldn't read. I enjoy it so much more now. I am the kind of guy that hates reading, but I love reading my Bible now. I recently have also noticed God giving me the words I need to help people through a situation or something. I am not a good speaker or writer by any means, but lately God has given me words to comfort and help in various ways. It is an amazing feeling when God does that. Yet another place I have grown is with my emotions and future. I feel like I grow daily in the field of relationships. I know more about what I want. And last is my future. I have realized the difference between dreams and reality. I also know God will lead me where He wants me. I have had a passion for the game of golf since I was in 6th grade. I wanted to be a professional golfer since then. I have never felt like that about anything before, but I know that if God's will is for me to play collegiate golf and maybe farther, He will make it happen. I am willing to follow God wherever He wants to take me now. I was hesitant before to go to school anywhere north of Tennessee because I wanted to play golf. I wasn't willing to let go of my dream, even if it wasn't God's will. I was determined I knew what He wanted. When we do that, God will show us that we don't know, at least not for sure. Now it's getting late, but I am willing to go wherever God needs me. I cannot wait for this next year to see where God wants me and takes me. We will see.

A Needed Change

I, like many people, have always found it hard to find time to read my Bible every day. I try to read it every night, but sometimes it's just hard. It may be late, and I feel too tired, but this year I have a One Year Chronological Bible. This is a Bible that is organized in order of when the events happened or when the accounts were written. It is also separated into days. I read one day's worth of scripture at a time, so at the end of this year, I will have read through the entire Bible. This has made reading my Bible everyday much easier. I enjoy reading my Bible more, and I think I might re-read this Bible every year. I hope I will grow closer to God throughout this entire year and the rest of my life. I believe this will help me do that. I am so excited to see where God takes me during and after this. He is in charge!

A Thought With A New Year

Well, it's 2012 now. A new year is exciting and brings adventures with it. I can't wait to see what happens this year.

2011 was a pretty good year. I had many good times, and I began hanging out with some groups of people at my new school and church. I have found some good friends here. Granted, it took time, but when I first moved, I didn't know what would happen. I honestly thought I would just stick to myself until I went to college. Now that I am half-way through my senior year, I am excited for college and worried at the same time, and I know I will miss some of my new friends. I know God will lead me though. I just have to follow Him.

I hope everyone else had a great year in 2011, and they look forward to a new year as well. I realize it is hard at times to see that anyone cares or if anything good will happen, but I have been there, too. It's not easy when you feel alone, but a friend of mine reminded me that we are never alone. God is always there for us, and I guarantee someone else is there for you, too. You go and ask everyone in the world, and someone will care. It is amazing how God works. He teaches us daily. Whether we are growing or falling, or we know someone who is growing or falling. We can help them if they are falling, and they can help us if we are. That is what friends are for. "For two are better than one, because they have good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can pick him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!" -Ecclesiastes 4:9-10. We just have to realize that we all fall.

I realized a friend of mine was not necessarily falling, but they were in a rough spot in their life. It wasn't until a few minutes after that God reminded me I had been in the exact same place a little over a year ago. I have to remember what I needed and maybe I will be able to help. I hope I can however needed.

So, going into the new year, 2012, I look forward to seeing how God uses me, and how my life progresses.

Happy New Year

Life In A World That Is Not My Own

I was thinking the other day when I was in Kentucky at my grandma's house and remembered a poem I wrote a little over a year ago, and I thought I would share it. The poem is called Life In A World That Is Not My Own. I wrote it last December and I don't know what made me think of it, but I didn't want to forget it. I know it may be strange but this is something a lot of people go through. Moving to a new town is not easy. It was one of the hardest things I've done in my life, but when I look back at it, it's one of the best things that has ever happened to me. It has made me stronger, and I know how someone feels when they move to a new place after being in the same place for a long time. If this is where you are right now, be comforted that no matter where we go, God is still with us. Go to Him and ask him for comfort and guidance. Feel free to ask me questions as well. I also believe God has given me this situation so I may help comfort others, too. Thanks. I hope you enjoy it:

Life In A World That Is Not My Own

I stare into space and remember my case.
I am living in a world that is not my own.
Some things happen and make me wish I were nappin',
Just having a dream where my life is ripping at the seam.
But then I remember, no one yelled "Timber,"
God placed me here, which removes my fear.
My life is not crashing down, I am just living in a new town.
I am not alone, so there is no reason for me to groan.
Making new friends is a part of life; losing them is too, along with the strife.
So I stare into space and remember my case,
I am living in a world that is not my own.