Where is home?

Where is home to you? I'm not talking about what is your address or your zip code or what it says in the category "hometown" on facebook. Where is your home? Home for today's purposes will be described as the place where you fit in. It could be a job, a school, a relationship or even darker things like an addiction or extra-marrital affair. Or it could be something as harmless as the NFL or a pet or even church. The question is, "where can you be you?" For me it seems like I have a bunch of different homes, and It's probably the same for you. I don't know about you but trying to spend time at all of those homes wears me out. I've got school, work, girlfriend, church, Etc. It seems like throughout the day I have to get into whatever "home" I'm in for the specific amount of time I'm supposed to be there and then I move on to the next home. I feel like a gypsy or better yet a mormon. Yeah, a mormon - a bunch of different families, all sharing my affection, duty, and support. This is very stressful on a person with an extreme one track mind.

Almighty God, You know what it is like to have many obligations. Heck, you hear all of our prayers at once. You are supreme, above all that I can comprehend. You must have a plan and a purpose for me. One thing I ask - help me to be faithful to you, to your calling on my life, and to the mission set before me. Amen.

Where I went from there...

So....It's been a while. I have no excuses for not writing in nearly a year. But now, since I'm beggining to be academically challenged I feel like writing. Let me catch you up on what has went down or gone on in my life over the past 10 months (since last post) I got accepted to Seminary at Dallas Theological Seminary. I resigned from the church and moved to Dallas. I got a job doing accounting at a property management company. And I started seminary. I cannot begin to explain how utterly amazed I am that I'm finally here. I love the school and I love being in a challenging, professional, Christ-centered, academic atmosphere. I guess the thing I love most about Dallas Seminary so far is how proffessional everyone is. This maybe stupid but you can tell people are in sync with God by the way they dress, walk, and act. There is a tremendous spirit of freedom through Christ that pervades the oasis in Dallas that is the seminary. A freedom that is evident not only in the younger students but also in the faculty. A freedom that is almost tangible...like water filling the halls and courts and even my off-campus life. I've always known that the way "we've" done church is limited by legalism, and that somehow, someway I would find the freedom, and people that speak to that freedom. I've found it. I'm reminded over and over of that message of freedom by lectures, notes, policy, and sermons. The voice of freedom now proclaims loudly what my heart whispered for so long.

Somewhere in the back of my mind, I hear the words of Steven Curtis Chapman, "there's more to this life than living and dying,More than just trying to make it through the day..."

I'll leave you with a quote, I didn't catch the source but Mark Bailey quoted this in Chapel:

"Traditions are the living faith of those who are now dead, traditionalism is the dead faith of those who are still living."

Update

Sorry I haven't updated in a while, I've been really busy at my other job. Man, alot has been going on for me the past couple of months. God's really been stretching me in some ways I thought that I was through growing. In the area of close friendship-type relationships God has blessed me tremendously. 1) First Clayton and Rhyan: These guys have went from being church aquaitenances to close personal friends almost over night. Clayton is our Student Ministry Worship Leader and Rhyan is his Fiance. 2) Another plus in the personal relationship dept. is the advent of Melinda to my life. Melinda is Rhyan's best Friend, a great person to talk to, and someone that I'm looking very forward to getting to know really well. 3) Our student ministry is taking the crucial step from Traditional Wednesday night services to what I call "Link groups." Basically a community group format, with group meetings on Tuesday and Wednesday nights at my house. I'm a little nervous about this decision, but am assured of the ability of small groups to promote spiritual growth. 4) Number 4 is what I like to call, "the Hog." I just recently purchased a 2002 Honda Shadow Spirit 750. It is sweet. It's yellow, chromed-out, with cobra pipes. There's no other way to explain it besides, "it a hog, and i love it."

Happy trails.

Roomie

Clayton is moving in with me....Yeah, that's kinda scary. Clayton is our Student Ministry worship leader and my new roomate. He'll be moving in sometime in September. The idea of taking on a roomate had never crossed my mind until one day a couple weeks ago, he said, "Why don't you let me move in with you." I was like, "Uh, no Clayton, I don't do the whole roomate thing." I mean, don't get me wrong, I like company, and all that, but I like my space. In college I had a roomate for 4 months, he was a nice guy and all, but, again, I needed my space. So I paid out the butt for a one-bedroom apartment. But it was worth it not to have to worry about someone watching MY TV, or snooping through the pile of MY dirty clothes in the middle of the floor, or eating MY left over On the Border.

But I guess times change...

I'm actually kind of excited about Clayton moving in. Yesterday I built a wall and enclosed his room (the Snakeroom) and had a pretty good time doing it. Him being there will bring alot of things to the table. 1) Accountability in the housekeeping arena. Not that I'm not a decent housekeeper, but it sure is alot easier to wash the dishes when they start stinkin rather than one at a time. Besides, whose gonna see them but me, right? Not anymore, I will be forced to wash dishes and clothes fiscally, and keep the house clean. This is a good thing. 2) It will give Clayton and I a chance to get closer, and maybe even do some discipleship. This will be a good thing. 3) He's gonna be helping me with expenses, so that's always good. All in all I think this will be a good thing.

SEC Pics....

SEC Pics....

SEC 2006 - Campus Revolution

Student Evangelism Conference
Harvest Church
Ft. Worth, Tx
July 28-29, 2006

The Conference was GREAT! We had a really good time and I think the students that went we're challenged. Shane and shane were awesome! Also, Starfield and Salvador play concert style. I was a little disapointted b/c Chandler wasn't there. I don't know what the deal was, but he didn't speak. However, the guyS that spoke in his place were really good. The Student Evangelism Conference has two goals...(1) to bring lost students into a relationship with Christ. (2) to motivate christian students to share Christ On their campus. Friday night was the big evangelistic sermon where a guy named Clayton (I don't remember his last name) spoke about spiritual bondage to sin using the NT reference John 8 where Jesus says, "...know the truth, and the truth shall set you free." He also used the OT reference with the children of Israel in slavery. It was good stuff, challenging and relevant. Kids came down in droves; I had the honor to counsel with a 13yr young man named Scotty who accepted Christ. On Saturday, a guy named Alvin Reed challenged students to be unafraid to share there faith. Overall it was a good conference, and an eye opening experience for some of my students. But I still missed Matt Chandler.

The Best Date I've Ever Had

This is a picture of John and Kim's Daughter, Bethany. Their son, John Michael is in Houston right now, but Bethany is still in Duncan. I love these kids like they were my own. I hope one day, I can have kids with personalites as big as these two. So different. John Michael is a sensitive, tender, baseball and peace loving 7 yr old. Bethany is a rough and tumble, play in the floor, "catch me Bwudda Bwyan," 3 yr old girl.

Last weekend John and Kim wanted to go out, and asked me to keep Bethany, to which I definetively agreed. Upon arrival at the Culley house, Bethany met me halfway across the floor saying, "Will you take me on a date, Bwudda Bwyan?" John and Kim had been talking about their date and I guess Bethany didn't want to be left out. Kim said that cars was showing at the cheap show and we still had time to grab a "Chicky Nugget" Happy meal at McDonalds. So I said, "Sure, B." (That's what we call her..."B") Anyway we traveled to Mickey D's and then on to the movies, primed and ready for, "Tow Mater and Lighting McQueen." We got our ticket (Notice the singular ending on ticket, another advantage to taking a three year old on a date, she gets in free at the movies.) and settled into our seat. About 5 minutes into the movie, Bethany is out like a light and stays that way for the rest of what turned out to be a very good movie. Upon our leaving the theatre, on the way to the Culley family van, B said grogily with squinted eyes, "Bwudda Bwyan, are we gonna go on our date now." Maybe the single cutest statement I've ever heard, she didn't know what a date really was, but she wanted to go on one. If I would have been made of butter I would have melted right there in the parking lot. Bethany and John Michael have a special place in my heart and I hope that I'm here long enough to see them grow up.