So you think He's not there............

Everybody go through stuff. You go through stuff, I go through stuff, hey even that boy or girl who is the most popular in school go through stuff. It is time to stand and be the difference. Standing up and just being different is not good enough any more. The next level would have to be just simply being the difference. Every day you wake up know in your mind that, “yes, something could happen today that just might change the feel of the day, but in the midst of that I'm going to be strong and push through no matter what.” Don't ever let nobody tell you that it is alright to just sit around for a while, because it's not. God has placed people in our lives for a reason. This is for you to know and fully understand that you are not alone and that when you are in need allow these people to help you. Some of us may not be use to the idea of accepting people into their lives as care givers or just simply encouragers, but when God is in it only the best will come out of it. The life that we live as Christians is for sure not a easy one, but at the end of the day a satisfying one. The bible says in Hebrews ch.13, “I will never leave you, nor forsake you.” He will always be there even when you think no one is there, when everyone has abandon you, when it seem like the world is completely against you, He will be there. The funny thing is that sometimes even we ourselves try to push God away , but the love that he has for us is so strong that that will never happen. We as the people can and even at times will run away from Him, but He will never ruin away from us. Be encouraged that He came, lived, died, and now live again at the right hand of the father interceding for you and I. Also, like it or not “YOU ARE NEVER ALONE.”

The Importance of Others

Sometimes you wake up and you wonder how will things go today. Knowing that God will be with you every always, makes it a little easy to expect good things. Sometimes we even feel like we are all alone in this big world with nobody even looking your way. God place people in our lives for many different reasons. At the end of the day it is up to you to use them. For so long I felt this way; all alone and nobody with me. As God begin to open my eyes and as I begin to look more closely at my surroundings, I see what He has placed around me. This past weekend I was invited for dinner at Bev and Walt's House. The food was great and so was the fellowship. The thing that I learned the most about the whole thing was that, “If you don't use who God place in your life for the benefit of growth and the act of fellowship with other believers,” then yes you will feel alone. God has a plan for everything and through Him things will be made better. I thank God for the people he has placed in my life, and it is time I started to get rid of my pride and allow the those people to be a blessing to my life. Also allowing them be encouragements and a help as I walk out this life as a believer in Christ.

Let Go & MOVE

God wants to take you to the next level. It is time to stop building monuments and start a movement. The only way that we are going to go to the next level with God is to listen top His voice and obedience. Sometimes we get so caught up in doing the many things that may be scheduled through out the week. This, without knowing can become a distraction from hearing God. As a leader it is important to lead with love and confidence, but yet firm. Here is the reason that I think this generation is not moving to allow God to take them to the next level. Being taken to the next level requires change and the letting go of things in your life that doesn't belong. We express so much about how we want to do great things for God, but when God says, “ Hey, I know you are enjoying whatever that may be, but it's time to let it go,” or “listen, there are some people in your life that to you, may be your friends, but they are blocking you from the move of God for you to go to the next level.

God has commanded us to GO, but in our going we try carry things that just need to be gone from our lives. As a leader in this community it is very important for me to be walking with Christ with nothing behind me holding me back. As John Maxwell says, “Leadership is influence, nothing more, nothing less.” How you act and what you bring into this community will show up in your be coming a disciple as well as being a leader. In my own I am slowly, but surely letting go of some things in my life that shouldn't be there right now. When you begin to actually engage in that process it does hurt, but you have to see the big picture that God is doing some changing in your life. Also when trying to do things alone you always never get full accomplishments, but God has place those few people that are going into the same direction as you in your life for a reason. Know that God will never leave us nor forsake us.

A Challenge to You: Begin to let go of what doesn't belong in your life, and watch God move and through your obedience the next level for you will be coming soon.

Camera 2 "Standby"!

This week was pretty busy, but yet a good one. This past weekend at Winterfest I learned how to operate big production camera's. Even though it was a little hard in the beginning it was still pretty fun throughout the weekend. Besides that I learned what I would like to call, the power to flexibility. I have never ran those camera's before, but despite that I was able to lead a team to do the job that was need for us to do, which was to record Winterfest. Sometimes as a leader you will work with people who you just sometimes can't tell anything to and some will be willing to go with the flow. Given the opportunity to lead the camera crew of Ben, Caleb, Brennan, and myself was pretty awesome. Those guys were awesome and did a great job. The places that I ended up putting everyone in was the right choice to get the work done the right way. Here in the School of Ministry as a leadership student I have leaders above me. These leaders try their best to do all they can to have us succeed. I don't know about anyone else, but I witness it first hand how important it is to respect and listen to your leaders. I can truly say that I'm not perfect in that area and when you are not your best in those area's it tend to make it hard for you in the midst of you being put in a leadership position. Great followers make great leaders, which means you have to be willing to follow in order to have the desire to lead. We are most like Christ when we are serving others.

Pain then Victory :-)

Sometimes life get so hard, it seem like everyday, every step, and every breathe is wrong. This happens when you try to focus more on what is going on in your life rather than what God is wanting to do in your life, you tend to loose focus on whats important. Sunday our pastor spoke from Nehemiah chapter 6. Nehemiah was a man on a destiny to rebuild the wall. In the midst of he and his team of workers building the wall, Sanballat and Geshem try to detract him from completing the task at hand. Verse 16 says, "When all our enemies heard about this, all the surrounding nations were afraid and lost their self-confidence, because they realized that this work had been done with the help of our God. Because Nehemiah focused on God and allowing him to control the course they was able to get the Job done. When I was listening to this message, God was speaking to me within my own life and what I'm going through. God told me, "listen, the things that you are going through are nothing compared to the plans that I have for you. If you trust me, then you will remain focus on me and allow me to take care of the rest. Build your faith and be encouraged by the people around you. Don't just allow life to just go by and hold stuff in.  From the story of Nehemiah the overall thing that I have learned was when you allow God to lead the course then will you get things done no matter what come your way.

The Joy of living a Christain life

This weekend was a very busy  weekend. As I look back at my life and where I am at now I see how much of how God was their in my life the whole time. When I was a young boy living in, D.C., I attended this sidewalk sunday school thing called Kids Konection. God does things early in your life so that later as life develops you begin to see things making since. The last time I was on that blue mat in the sunday school, was about 10 years ago. So 10  years later I meet the lady that God allow to impact my life to be what it is now, I saw her twice, once last year at the Tools Confrence then this past weekend at Winterfest. I tnink when people see the fruit of they have invested in it enables them to keep going. Sometimes you do things in life not knowing what for or where it will lead your life to. God does everything for a reason and when you allow Him to direct your life things begin to make since as time goes by. Who you are as a child can sometimes shape you to be what you will become in the future.

Season or a Lifetime

This week have been very busy and there has been a lot done to get ready for Winterfest. This week I have learned a lot about myself. Sometimes when God wants me to do something, I tend to go and do other stuff because I think my ideas a pretty good ones. Your idea may be good, but when it comes to God what He wants should always be your first priority. This is my second time learning the Book of James and in chapter one it says, “ consider it pure joy when you face trials of many kinds, because the testing of your faith produces perseverance.” Lately I have been dealing with some really tough stuff in my life but I'm learning to find joy in it all. For so long I always thought that I could do somethings on my own, but in all reality I can't. John 15:5 says, “ I am the vine and you are the branches and if you abide in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit. APART FROM ME YOU CAN DO NOTHING.” Another thing that I am learning is that life isn't always gonna turn out the way that you want it to. When you begin to listen to God's voice rather then the voice of the world, then will we know and understand. If you don't get things under control now, as time goes on life can really mess you up. This comes from being so busy with life that you forget what's important. A lot of times we nurture things in our lives that probably shouldn't be worried about to much verses the things that should be.

Final thought: Choose life, don't it choose you. You can either know where you're going or you you don't.

“Choose LIFE and let God lead.”

Relationships R Important

We get so caught up in our daily schedules that we forget the relationships that we are in or either building. This past Sunday Joel and Kayla Carter spoke on, “Remembering your first Love.” They talked about how we loose sight of that in these three areas: Service, Sin, and Distraction. As Christians we do our best to do as must as possible in the church. This is because people really want to be true servants of Christ, but sometimes we get so much into things that we forget the relationship that we have with God. This relationship is very important and should be first on the “To Do” list. God longs for a relationship with His people, it is just up to us to accept Him and start that nice long journey of a relationship with Christ. Also she talked about Revelation 2:2-4. Verse four says, “ Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first.” So see after even being acknowledged for doing all that good stuff in verses 2&3, still they have forsaken the first love. Now to flip things a little, the part in the message that I really liked was when they talked about how worship is a great way to remember that first love. I find myself rolling worship songs in my head all the time that allows me to remember God and what He did in my life. Also how He changed my life. I thank Him every day for the relationship that we have and I am working every day to make it a better one, because every personal relationship with God can always be better.

“ Remembering Your First Love”

The work doesn't stop here......

It has been a great and awesome time being home and serving at the local church. As God works in your life, serving becomes apart of your life. This week finished up practicum with a few things. Now tuesday I was at the doctors all morning, but that evening we had the tuesday night youth service. I played the drums and ran the slides for Chafik's message. That wendesday the worship and drama team along with Chafik, myself, Ben, Eleesha, and David went to minister to the youth group in Hillsbourgh, NC. It was an awesome time and God did what he wanted to do. Thursday was back to the doctors for me. Friday Chafik and I went to Virginia Beach for a VACOG Youth Camp Planning Retreat. This was held for two days and a great opportunity it was to be apart of something like that. I felt I was most beneficial in getting the theme and advertising done for this year's church summer camp. I was least beneficial from not being able to give time in the full week due to going to the doctors. I did about 10 hours of services. God really spoke a lot to me during this time. He says stay focus be encouraged and keep me at the center of your life. 

Practicum Week three

It was a great week full of exciting things to do. During the week I continued to work on the advertising for this summer's Summer Camp program. Also that Monday we helped set up and prepare for the New Year's service which was a great turn out, seeing God's people bring in the new year through worship and prayer is such an awesome experience and wouldn't trade it for nothing. On Wedensday we did the middle school class which is still in the growing process, but what God is in, He will bless. Thurday is now called Farm Day. We went to a lady's farm named Ms.Diana. She had ask for us to come and help  her move some stuff on the farm. At first I was a little wacked out about doing it but as we got into the work I realize that sometimes service work isn't always clean work. Because of Gid useing us to serve her, we ended up seeing her in church sunday. I thank God for a group of people that is willing to serve. On Friday I was given the opportunity to help Ms.Yvonne Alexander prep the dinner for the Sunday IMPACT youth auction. I love to cook and that was a definite highlight in my week. I would say that I have completed 10 -12 hours this week. I was most beneficial in cooking projects we had this week. I was least beneficial in having certain things be better then they were. My favorite part of the week was the New Years service. My least favorite was the farm but, even in the things that you don't want to do God will make a way for His glort to be shown. The thing that God has been revealing to me this week is that just because some people do wrong doesn't mean you have to. Also as things begin to come aganist you in this life stay focus on Me and I will take care of the rest. Romans 8:28- "All things work together for the good of those who are in Christ Jesus."