well - some goals were met

Today is a day of firsts - (when I say that out loud, it sounds ground moving, but I mean that it is actually the first day of the year). I don't actually remember if I posted up any of the goals that I had set for myself to live up to in the previous year (which I know that I didn't meet them all - one of them was to write on here at least once a week), but I'm also not going to look back to see if I did. I will just be honest about it. I really remember making 3 goals and they were as follows: 1. To read at least one new book a month, 2. To write on here at least once a week, and 3. To get a set of drums.

I accomplished 2 of the 3, not too bad. I thought that I would do 2 things on here today. One is to give a very brief "year end review/update on my life" and the other is to jot down a list of the books that I read this year (the reason for this is so that one day, I may look back on here to see what I've read and haven't on my bookshelves).

So - the first part of this is as follows. It was a great year for me. I grew to amazing new depths with the Lord and was able to see Him work in amazing and encouraging ways in my life. That is so exciting! I was able to really soak up some awesome time in the Word this year, and I've seen more and more of a hunger for the things of the Lord in my life throughout the year. Also - I am engaged to be married on June 30, 2012! This is super exciting! My fiance encourages and pushes me to know the Lord and she loves the Lord more than anything else, this is encouraging in and of itself. Brief, but I am running short on time and have other things to take care of. Those are the highlights of the year.

Books That I Finished in 2011
The Silver Chair - C.S. Lewis
The Last Battle - C.S. Lewis
Jonathan Edwards on True Christianity - Owen Strachan and Doug Sweeney
Jonathan Edwards on Beauty - Strachan/Sweeney
Jonathan Edwards on The Good Life - Strachan/Sweeney
Jonathan Edwards on Heaven & Hell - Strachan/Sweeney
Jonathan Edwards Lover of God - Strachan/Sweeney
What Is the Gospel? - Greg Gilbert
What Is a Healthy Church? - Mark Dever
A Guide To Biblical Manhood - Randy Stinson and Dan Dumas
Sun Stand Still - Steven Furtick
The Pursuit of God - A.W. Tozer
Bloodlines: Race, Cross, and The Christian - John Piper
When I Don't Desire God - John Piper
Fifty Reasons Jesus Came To Die - John Piper
God Is the Gospel - John Piper
Spectacular Sins - John Piper


I think that about covers them. I would suggest these books to anyone, they were all great! Now - short on time, so I'm gonna go. Happy New Year all! Praise the Lord for giving us another day and breath to make His name known and exalted!

don't put anyone on house arrest!

I will preface this post by saying this - I'm not going to announce any viewpoints of my own right now, just a few points that I believe are pertinent to the situation of which I will be writing about. 

We're coming up very quickly on the time of year when my Facebook news feed fills up with posts that I like to call "global warming what?" posts. They generally follow this trend: there is snow (or it is just cold) where the person posting the status is or there are some news reports of snow in lots of places across the country (this was the case last year, with snow having fallen in 49 of 50 states). I just love this time of year!

My only thing that I would like to say is this - be careful before you verbally abuse those who may believe that global warming is true or false. I get so tired of people saying things that bash the maker of a certain documentary that, in large part, sparked the national conversation of "global warming". If a person disagrees with this mans views, don't attack him - address his viewpoints. He's done his research, if someone doesn't agree - show that they've done theirs! 

Above and beyond all of this - look out for how you choose to address the topic. I have friends that fall on both sides of this issue - and this issue isn't something that should be as divisive as it's made out to be. Does anyone remember from their history classes what happened to Galileo for saying that the sun was the center of the universe and that the earth moved? He was forced to repent of heresies and then sentenced to house arrest! Was this really necessary? I think not. Love these people - if you agree, love those who don't. If you don't agree, love those who do agree. Share the Gospel. If we run people off because we're more vocal about our views on things that we may or may not know much of anything about than we are about the truth of the Gospel - that's a shame. 

This should be my last and only posting on political/environmental topics for a long time. 

ever try to wrap your head around infinitude?

So I'm in McDonalds again, but it's a different one this time. I didn't have intentions of doing an update, but   time allowed for one - so here it is.

Things that are new in my life since the last update:
     * - My girlfriend (Heather) has turned 21 (yesterday)!
     * - I've started waking up between 4:00 - 4:30 am during the week days (not enjoyable)
     * - I have successfully used a tool that costs more than my truck (truck is still worth more to me)
     * - Watched the movie "August Rush" for the first time
     * - I have been experiencing God's grace and mercy, which is new every day! (Lam. 3:22-23)

I will say this - I am so blessed to be in the family of God. I was commenting to Heather yesterday at the end of August Rush about the sense of euphoria and overwhelmingness that (SPOILER ALERT) August's parents must have felt when they A) had not seen each other since their one night stand 10 years earlier (not condoning this) or B) they are seeing, for the first time, their son (who is a musical genius). Now - I will stand by this, that that situation is probably incredibly overwhelming, I'm not going to try to discredit that at all. But this made me think today about situations where I've been overwhelmed with joy about things, are they temporal or Christ exalting?

How can I not be overwhelmed by the love of God? As God has continually been teaching me in the past few years about the depth and deplorable nature of my sin - his love is the most overwhelming (the good kind of overwhelming) thing that I can ever experience. God is immeasurable in all of his aspects, this is what infinitude means. Therefore, if God is infinitely holy, then my sin is infinitely deplorable and disgusting. That being established, the infinite holiness of God and the infinite offensiveness of my sin must be reconciled or I will be infinitely separated from God! Praise the Lord for the infinite beauty of the Gospel. I have been redeemed and am eternally secure in the eyes of my Maker  because of the eternally satisfying sacrifice of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ! Even as I write this, I am overwhelmed with joy and at a loss for words - we cannot even begin to describe the beauty of the Gospel!


I hope that this encourages you, as I have been encouraged by meditating on it. 

in keeping with tradition

In keeping with the not-so-current yet still current trend of not writing/updating my blog in forever, I thought that I would do just that tonight! I hope that this update finds everyone doing well. It finds me sitting in a booth in a McDonald's by myself mooching free Internet for the low price of the large coffee that I bought an hour ago. I didn't really have intentions of coming up here to write a blog entry, but when the Internet keeps going out every time I'm halfway through doing something else...I thought I might as well go ahead and do this. 

This entry finds me with such a longing heart. Here lately I have truly had the mind-set and heart-set that this world is not my home at all. I feel so out of place most days. I'm so ready to see my all-powerful Father in heaven. I just want to be where He is. I cannot wait for the day that I'm called home to be with Him.

Here lately I've been going through the book of Deuteronomy and have been learning so much about God's great providence and the fact that his love is so different from the way that I'm even able to love. He is showing me the grandeur of His greatness on a day in and day out basis. I just wanted to write on here to let folks now that I am, in fact, still alive. 

I hope that this update finds you doing well and that it may possibly encourage you to seek the Lord with more of your heart. Believer, realize that this world is not your home! May you be filled with a heart of longing to be in the presence of the throne-room of the Almighty One! I am praying for those of you who may read this blog entry - that all of us together may "press on to know the Lord" (Hosea 6:3). He is good and worthy of our lives…which is still an offering to small. 

a request

Tomorrow I head out on a trip to camp with the youth group from my church. I would ask that everyone be praying over not only the students from our church, but also all of the leaders. Lift up the staff in prayer, they are tired and need energy. Lift up the other churches that are present as well. Join with me in asking God to raise up a few kids that are willing to turn the world upside down for the Gospel. I am praying for you, thank you for reading this blog. I hope that it is encouraging and challenging, as I try to write the things that have been encouraging and challenging to me personally. Thanks!

update

So - this is just an update as to what I've been doing lately. I have been reading a lot.

Moving on....

This thought has been on my mind a lot lately - the greatness of God. I have been very encouraged by and challenged by this thought - don't let the gifts of the gospel come in the way of the giver. The giver is the one that is to be praised! I have been reading "God is the Gospel" by John Piper - if I had to suggest one book for you to read this month,  I would say (next to Scripture) that you should read this book.

Another thing that is SUCH an encouraging thought is this - God uses everything that ever happens to glorify himself. I've been chewing on this, it's such a great and encouraging truth. I cannot thwart God's plan by being a knucklehead! (I read "Spectacular Sins" by John Piper last week - - great book!)

All in all - I want to update you all with why I haven't written on here in a hot month.

     1. I've been lazy about writing - I have ideas, I just don't set aside the time to write.

     2. I've been reading a lot of good books here lately, so I would rather suggest you to read their writings, rather than mine.

       So - In view of these 2 reasons, I'll try to stop being lazy about writing if YOU will pick up one of these books and read it. (I will suggest more as I finish more. I don't like to suggest a book that I have not yet finished or come close to it.)

      a. "Spectacular Sins" by John Piper

      b. "God is the Gospel" by John Piper

I plan on finishing up "God is the Gospel" tonight and will be starting on a new book tomorrow. More updates to come soon and possibly reflections from a book.

[insert a creative title here]

So, I would briefly like to say that I'm kicking myself because I haven't written in so long. Okay...moving on!

So I read articles like crazy, and a lot of times the articles on Yahoo! distract me while I'm going to check my e-mail. That being said, they had an article up today that had an excerpt from an interview with Stephen Hawking. It was probably one of the most depressing articles that I've read in a good while! It was also pretty depressing to read through the "comments section" at the end of the article as well.

I found myself thinking "this man has the most bleak outlook on life that I could imagine, it is so joyless." But as I was thinking this, I realized "hey wait, every person who doesn't have Christ leads and incredibly unfulfilled and joyless life!" Now there is temporal joy, and its temporary pleasures could even seem to outweigh the pains of this life in the here and now...but there is always eternity. Hawking doesn't believe in eternity, God, or pretty much anything that he can't wrap his mind around. But what really caught me off guard and what I really wanted to just throw up here last minute was this - his take away from all of life is this, "we should seek the greatest value of our action". That's what he sums up to the point of human life and existence, "the greatest value of our action." So whatever I DEEM to be the greatest value of my action is what is I can do to "lend meaning to my experience" (this was the question posed by the writer, to which Hawking's answer was "we should seek the greatest value....").

Realizing that my action is not going to solve any great world problems or anything like that...I know what the greatest use of my time is, it is to glory in and praise the risen Christ, and to derive my joy from doing so. Glorify God. The God that Hawking is willing to gamble his entire life on that He doesn't exist. This God EVERYTHING that exists. I do not want to live my life for some "good cause". I do not want to live my life to be a "decent person". Because frankly, there are no "good causes" if they do not involve Christ. There are no "decent people." If you're a believer, take joy in the fact that you have been given the chance to serve and glorify God. He doesn't need you. He doesn't "have to have" you. He WANTED you! He has given us the opportunity for fullness and joy. But also, read this and see how dark and hopeless the life of a non-believer is. Allow this to push you to pray for the lost. Share the Gospel. Don't be content with "trying to be a decent person" because that is crap. Revel in the greatness of God!