13:7

If first impressions and opinions defined how my summer was going to be, I was in a for a real disaster. Things said like "it's too hot" "good luck on that one" and "you don't know what you're getting yourself into" swarmed around my mind as I prepared mentally for the journey that I was about to begin in Hancock County, Mississippi. 

Thank goodness that God created us in such a way that we are able to form our own opinions and impressions, and not dwell in what other people predict our journey to look like, because from the very first step I took inside of Crane Creek Baptist Church on a rainy Sunday afternoon, I've never felt more love and been more blessed to be in the middle of nowhere in my entire life. 

It's a feeling like no other, really. When you can just see God's hand move all around the area, and know that His plan for you is perfect, yes, that's right, perfect.

And then there's a completely and totally different feeling that overwhelms you at times, the feeling of the presence of evil, the presence of Satan, and one thing I've learned this summer is Satan is a genius, and he knows what he's doing. And boy did our team feel the weight of Satan, on a daily basis, but God is more powerful than any force of evil that will ever cross this earth. 

Before I began this summer, my constant prayer was for God to reveal one thing that He wanted to show me in my life this summer, and the very first week I knew what it was, God wanted me to see how much love He has for me, and for others, but in a more physical way than I've ever been able to comprehend. 

Let me tell you about my friend Bob, Bob is a man who can cook but more importantly He loves God more than anything else I've ever noticed, oh and one other thing, Bob doesn't give a rat's behind about any material things that he possesses, yeah that's right, ANY material things he possesses. 

During week 2, the team and I tackled Bob's house, which wasn't a huge project, but a project none the less that involved re-roofing his roof that was destroyed during Hurricane Katrina, and God really couldn't have chosen a better group to repair Bob's roof, they were fast, compassionate, and joyful in the work that they were doing for Bob, but more importantly for the Lord. And on Thursday of that week, they left satisfied and Bob was elated to see that his house was coming into fruition because of his roof.

And then, God humbled me more than I've ever been humbled in my life, and it didn't even directly affect me. The very next day, Mississippi encountered an awful thunderstorm, complete with hail, and high speed winds, and the tarp that was once protecting Bob's roof, was blown off due to the wind and the roof came crashing down which caused the ceiling to crash down, which in turn caused Bob's whole house to cave in and collapse on him, leaving him speechless but saying "that was worse than Katrina". What? Worse than Katrina, the Hurricane that took your whole city off the map? I couldn't even fathom the immensity of the thunderstorm that destroyed Bob's newly remodeled house, and one thing I will never forget is walking into his house the next day, and not being able to move around because of the insulation and ceiling and wall that was in what was his living room, and the water that soaked through His daughter's letter from her deceased mother, and the insulation that drowned the clothes that they had on their backs the day before, all I could do was go back to the church and weep, and I cried out to God, "why do You bless me with so much? When they now have nothing!" His response, "do you now see how much I love you?" 

Bob reacted like Christ to the destruction of his house, I never saw him frown, the next week our team went to his house and rebuilt the roof, and cleaned up inside the house the whole time Bob asked how we were doing, and if he could cook anything for us, and saying what he always says best "God bless you and I love you". The last day of the week we went up to the roof to finish the tar paper, and it started raining again, because of the heart that our whole team possesses, we wanted to finish the roof before we got down because of the rain, as the last nail was driven into the tarp, I was about to make my way down to the ladder to get off the roof, and then I blacked out, the next thing I remember is waking up with people all around me and not being able to feel my left leg. Bob came running out, and the team surrounded me with compassion and drove me to the hospital, where I found out that I had a dislocated knee, and I messed up my ankle a little bit more. 

I don't see it as a coincidence that I fell off in the rain, more importantly in the rain at Bob's house. The setting in which Bob was the most humbled, and in which Bob's life made a complete 180 was because of his roof during a storm, and the moment that God humbled me the most through the physical suffering that I went through was on Bob's roof, during a thunderstorm. 

Friends, God always knows what He's doing, no matter how much you doubt Him. 

By the grace of God, I was able to keep on keepin on, as we welcomed the next group into Hancock County, and we danced and we sang together the first night in beautiful harmony. A couple of hours later my competitive side kicked in and I played soccer with some of the kids, I was running down with the ball and then, pop...I've never fallen harder to the ground before in my life, and I felt that I didn't have an ankle anymore, after going to the hospital the ER doctor walked in and said "buddy, I'm sure you've done great work around here, but your summer is over, you're going to have to have surgery as soon as possible". 

God is not coincidental, everything that He does has purpose.

In a city of very few, a church population of even fewer, and the radio only playing two stations that have nothing but disdain for each other, I met Jesus Christ in the most real and physical way than I have before in my life, and I wouldn't trade it for anything.

As I read through my Bible tonight, I had to stop myself in John 13, when Jesus is washing His disciples feet, when Jesus is serving those whom He loves most, Jesus and Simon Peter are in a dialogue and Jesus Himself says words that completely rocked my world, "what I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand." (13:7)

You're right God, I don't understand, to be honest with you I'm confused, but Lord, help me yearn for the 'afterward' that You promise.

Another thing I've learned this summer, if you truly want to live like Christ, you're going to have to want to suffer and be okay with suffering because that's what Christ did, actually it was the crux of His ministry, and if we want to live like Christ without the desire of suffering, than we aren't really living like Christ. 

Just because I'm doing what God has called me to do this summer doesn't mean that I have a "get out of suffering free" card, I may not understand what His plan is, but I do feel restful in His plan already, simply because I know it's not something I can control.

This summer, God turned my fear of the unknown into a yearning for the unknown, and I felt God more this summer than I ever have and because of it, this has been the hardest summer of my life, even though it was cut short.

I don't know what His plan is, but I do know that He loves me enough to allow me to suffer, to allow me to be able to preach His Word in Mississippi, and build incredible lifelong friendships, and love like I've never loved before.

His thoughts are not my thoughts, His ways are not my ways, His plans are not my plans.

Even though I have to leave Next Step Ministries due to another surgery and not being able to walk, God has humbled me more in this moment right here than I could ever imagine.

We must do what God has called us to do, without taking any of the credit, because the credit belongs to the Creator.

Today is my last day with Next Step for the summer, with the team around me that God picked out, and with the community that loves unconditionally, I can still say, no matter what suffering I have gone through or will go through, God is so stinkin good.

And He loves you, a love that involves pain, sacrifice, and a different agenda, I've learned that's the kind of love that I want to fall into.

Thank you, Yahweh. 

I Refuse To Be A Dad.

Conviction: 
noun.
-a strong belief or opinion. 

Convictions are things that should be taken seriously. A conviction could be compared to a calling from God and should be treated as such. A conviction strives to make the comfortable become uncomfortable.


Obviously, you get the point that a rather large conviction has been placed on my heart. And friends, your assumptions are correct.



The conviction? I refuse to be a dad.


When I say I refuse to be a dad, I mean I refuse to be a dad of the 21st Century. I don't refuse to have kids, or be a dad to people who don't have one. I mean I refuse to be dad of distractions in a world full of technology, to be more specific I mean:

• I refuse to be a dad who misses his son or daughter's first steps because I was too busy with my phone to notice the milestone in their life.
• I refuse to be a dad who ignores the signs of their child's depression or other mental illness and fails to add encouragement because my favorite TV show comes on in a minute and I can't record it because I'm recording five other things. 
• I refuse to be a dad who ignores requests from their child to play outside because it's too hot and I'd rather aimlessly surf the internet.
• I refuse to be a dad who doesn't take family dinner's or family get together's seriously and instead decides to play games on my phone.
• I refuse to be a dad who ignores the boys that my daughter brings into the house because I'm too busy texting people that are miles away from me. 
• I refuse to be a dad who portrays a message to my son that a video game is the key to happiness, when it brings turmoil, competition, and unnecessary anger. 
• I refuse to be a dad who spends more time with technology than I do with the Word of God when I know that my kids are looking up to me and thinking that technology should be first on their priority list as well.
• I refuse to be a dad who pays more attention to a material object in my pocket more so than the people right in front of my face.
• I refuse to be a dad who turns to google on my phone to get out of tough situations when I could teach my kids about reconciliation face-to-face.
• I refuse to be a dad that worships electronics.

To every single dad out there, know that I respect you and I'm praying for you. I couldn't even imagine the struggle that you face on a day-to-day basis with what society tells you to do, and how the Bible tells you to serve.

To the future fathers, please don't make technology your idol. I have witnessed first-hand far too many children that don't feel like their parents love them because they don't spend enough time with them.

Time is swiftly beautiful, and all of the electronics that you have can wait. Technology is not the key to Salvation, when used incorrectly it could be the complete opposite of that.


The day that I become a father, I hope to have already disciplined myself against the LED lights that bring me entertainment, but rooted into the Word of God who offers eternal life and contains verses on how to raise your children.

Today, I realized that technology isn't all that it's cracked up to be.

To my future children, I love you and I'm praying for you, and I will be able to maintain my priorities: you will be at the top of that list and electronics won't even be there, I promise you.

But for now, it starts with self-discipline, being rooted into the Word, and breaking away from the latest and greatest iPhone ad.

Chains will be broken.
Temptation will be set free.
Eyes will be opened.
But it starts with me.



-LC

Prone to wonder.

If you don’t know anything about me, know this: I wonder.

I wonder about little things, and I wonder about big things.

The fact of the matter is, I wonder. A little too much? We’re all entitled to our own opinion.

Recently, I’ve been wondering about what would it look like if Jesus was in the spotlight.

Now, in Biblical times Jesus was the spotlight, but was He in the spotlight?

To make things a little less muddy, did Jesus worship the spotlight, or did the spotlight worship Jesus.

The answer is an obvious one, but what makes it such.

In the present day times, all over social media, links are shared of people who participate in wrongdoing, whether it be accidental, small, or large. The ones that are the most shared have the “Christian” label on them.

“Man who claims to be a Christian commits this…”

“Pastor does this…..”

“Preacher’s kid did that…”

And we go NUTS. “You call that person a CHRISTIAN? You let that man lead your Church? Shouldn’t the Pastor of a Church be the model on how to raise a family?!”

…are you ready to vomit yet?

There are two answers to those questions.

1.     Yes, Yes, Yes, because we believe in a Perfect being, we should also strive for Perfection.

2.     We fail just as much as everyone else. And (whether we accept it or not) we are not better than anyone else.

Isn’t it interesting that the most minor hiccups that a Christian commits, become the most magnified in society, yet the bigger the risk that Jesus threw Himself into, the more perfect He somehow became…

So why are followers of Christ put under such a magnifying lens by the world?

In my opinion, the answer is simple.

Because there is no denying the reality of Jesus.

Jesus performs miracles regularly, the more He performs, the more the spotlight gradually illuminates Him. I find it interesting that during the most clutch time in Biblical history, when Jesus conquered death and rose from the grave, He wasn’t the one that said anything about it first. It required people to seek the grave (the spotlight) to realize it wasn’t there anymore. And when Jesus did talk He didn’t say “Dude, did you see that?” Instead, in the most humble, selfless, and perfect way imaginable He made His disciples realize that the ultimate battle had been defeated, they were eyewitnesses, and then they were instructed to go and make disciples of all nations.

When Jesus died on the cross, He offered us eternal life, and because of that we were given a spiritual spotlight that we will never be able to attain. But because of security in the Gospel, it’s a beautiful ride.

tick, tock.

Friends,

Before I give an update on my condition and my life, I wanted to thank you. Thank you for your prayers, thank you for your worry, thank you for your calls/texts/messages, thank you for your heart (it is beautiful). Not only did I feel a sense of peace from the Holy Spirit throughout this ongoing recovery process, I felt a sense of peace from you, your wisdom, and your compassion, and your thoughts were nothing short of motivation throughout this experience.


Most of you know I had to leave (the best school in the world) Biola University abruptly at the beginning of this semester due to ongoing pain in my face where I was already aware of multiple cysts. My reason for leaving, was simply doctor's orders and doctor's advice. I was instructed to leave if I felt ongoing and persistent pain, and as much as I didn't want to admit the pain, it was real, and it was persistent, and so i left.


God knows EXACTLY what He's doing.

The day of surgery was definitely a new experience for me,  nervousness was present as most would expect, but the peace of the Holy Spirit was always prevalent, and it was a beautiful thing to experience.

To be quite honest, God had revealed Himself through travel plans and through personal interactions on the planes that I was on to fly back to Texas, but I was awaiting God to reveal Himself through the operation and recovery. The thought of knowing that Christ was in control seriously made me so excited.


and MAN did God deliver.

There were some things that didn't go as planned (although we didn't really know what planned meant) on surgery day.

1. The surgery was supposed to last 2 hours. 2 1/2 hours max. It lasted closer to 5-5 1/2 hours.
2. My doctor wasn't expecting the cysts to be infected, and they were very infected, recently he explained to me that it was "worse than he could have imagined going into the surgery".
3. The biggest cyst (that was in my right sinus cavity) looked pretty sizable on the CT scan, but after taking it out, it was the size of a peach, which is larger than the doctor was expecting.
4. After a recent visit with my doctor, he explained to me that he was pretty much set on the fact that the recovery time would be longer than a year (closer to two years), he just didn't want to explain that to me because he didn't want me to be frustrated, and he figured I would just find out for myself.

--all four of these things seem like they lead to a long, hard, and frustrating road to recovery. However, all four of these things made up to be one of the biggest blessings in my life.


God's timing is PERFECT


The first couple of days after surgery I was obviously frustrated. Frustrated with the fact that I wasn't at Biola anymore, frustrated with the idea of sitting on my butt all day every day for weeks, and I kept telling myself "there's more to life than this".

That is the most selfish statement I could ever say in this situation in my life, after God has blessed me immensely.

The MORE to my life is the gift of Salvation, the blessing of having a Bible handy, the ability to talk to Christ for however long I wanted freely, and the privilege of being able to use my pain as a testimony to the ultimate pain that Christ took for me.

When it all boils down, pain (physical/emotional/spiritual) is not an excuse. If anything, it's more of an opportunity, to tell people what Christ has brought you through. Hallelujah.

The reason I titled this blog "tick, tock" is because God's timing throughout this experience has been the most beautiful thing to experience.

God has used me to be present at the most important time in some people's lives here, whether that be praying for them, fellowshipping with them, or carrying their burden for them, it has been obvious and consistent, and I thank God for that.

God has used me as a vessel to share the Gospel to people that are battling addiction, and to see Christ breakthrough that addiction is better than anything in this world. Praise God for that.

God has used me to be joyful in my trial, as hard as it was to let that go, and as easy as it could have been to fall back into frustration, He always gave me reason to smile, and it's the Grace that only He can provide, and man does He provide in abundance.


To say the least, God used my story, not me, not you, we're all unworthy, He used the story and the plan that He had made to bring ultimate glory to Him and His Kingdom, and I wish I could put into words what that meant to be able to see it unfold firsthand, but I have been left speechless numerous times, it was more incredible than anything I can imagine.


Our God is HEALER


I could go on and on about the specifics of my healing process after the surgery, but I would be typing for days. The doctor used things like "i'm blown away at your healing" "you continue to amaze" "i've never seen anybody recover this quickly from something this serious" "i'm speechless at God's Healing, and I say that because I sure as heck can't heal, especially this quickly."


Thank you Jesus.


I'll close with this.

Wherever you are in your walk with Christ, He has you. He has a perfect plan for you. Your world may be crashing down in front of your but it's crashing to the Hands that hold the world.

Jesus is REAL, and He is alive.

Want to know how I know?

My recovery timeline was at first, 7 months, then one year, then two years.

Now, with tears in my eyes and love in my heart I say...

Biola, I'll see you next semester.


Amen.

"Cyst"-E-Matic Grace

"Uh-Oh".

Those two words crunched into one aren't the most encouraging words to hear. 

There are certain places that you wouldn't want to hear this statement, at the top of that list would probably be the Doctor.

You especially wouldn't want to hear it followed by "this isn't good", and you definitely wouldn't want to hear that at the Doctor.

Well, you can probably guess that I heard this profound statement...at the Doctor.

God is able.

Mere days ago I walked into a Nose Doctor because I haven't been able to breathe through my nose, and I was expecting to hear "there's nothing wrong with you, quit freaking out" instead, I received news that would completely change the plans that I had for the next year.

God is always up to something. 

After several CT scans and a lengthy MRI, I systematically received news regarding my facial area that I would have never guessed could happen to me. 

First: one large cyst in my sinus cavity going pushing on my nose and squished against my eye socket.

Second: two pretty good sized cysts, including the cyst in my sinus cavity.

Third: three-four cysts (will be determined during surgery), one large cyst in my right sinus cavity as mentioned above, and two cysts resting on either side of my jaw bone, which has melted a chunk of my jaw bone on each side. And a deviated septum which is related to the cyst, which is why I can't breathe through my nose.

So, pretty much my face is messed up.

God is good.

There have been multiple things that I have learned throughout this whole experience, one big thing being humility, and how blessed we truly are to have people that care about us, specifically doctors, that want to provide top-notch medical care to us Americans simply because they care.

Another thing is that (in my case) I went through three plans;

Plan A: what I want

Plan B: what I will accept

Plan C: what God wants, and what happens

...doesn't that seem messed up? The God that brought me life, and blessed me with a citizenship in a free country, with medical facilities literally down the street...and all I have to offer is STILL plan C?

Thank you Father, for humility.

When the first doctor broke the news to me that I would be missing at least a semester of school, I was broken, confused, and scared. I thought to myself "i'm going to a private school, i'm going to use Your Word through my mouth so that people can come to know you, it's gonna be awesome, so why all of a sudden do I have this come up?"

I've never been so humbled, and felt so selfish.

The truth is I'm not a better person than anybody else and we are all fallen, broken, and immature human beings, and God's delay is not God's denial.

After visiting a second doctor, the news to me was that the surgery is urgent, but not emergent, but the surgery has to be done within the next year, with the risk being potential blindness in my right eye because of the cyst. The doctor then proceeded to say that the surgery needed to be done during Christmas break, and it required a 6-8 month recovery time. I cannot express to you the overwhelming sense of Grace that I experienced when my near future was explained to me by a doctor. 

God's plan and timing is pure perfection.

Will I miss some school? Yes. Is it the end of the world? Absolutely not. It is less than a grain of salt compared to the other problems in the world, and I have no right to complain, or sympathetically boast, about the trouble that has come into my life. Why? Because God has already overcome my trouble, along with every other human being to ever walk the face of the earth. 

The book of John says it best in chapter 16, in which I believe is the most beautiful foreshadowing statement in the history of mankind.

"I have said these things to you, that in ME you may have PEACE. In this world you WILL have troubles. But take heart! I HAVE OVERCOME THE WORLD."

If that doesn't make you want to jump up and down in praise and adoration, check your pulse, forreal. 

God is good, and I'm going to be okay.

I love every single one of you, let us pray together. 

Love on Life Support

I want to start off by having a disclaimer: I have been pondering if I should have a response to the madness that has broken out around social media today, but God has settled me with who should be my number one priority, and why I should always remember that God will ALWAYS be number one, even if the publics reaction is not positive.



Americans today are tipsy.
Some spiritually.
Some physically.
Most mentally.

Why do I say that Americans are tipsy? Because we just want to fit in. We want to do what everybody else is doing so we participate in the activities that it entails. Somebody says something really deep, and we attach to it, hopelessly, and we support it so much that we change our entire facebook to revolve around "it"...for a day.


I literally will not be able to sleep tonight, unless some things are said, and if they have to be said by me, let it be.


1. The reason my title is "Love on Life Support" is because this is that big of an issue, that needs to be addressed and prayed for.
2. There is a huge difference between loving and supporting.

I just wanted to take this time to address some of the things that I read today, and do my best to explain them, with the Word of God, which is most people like to argue this with.



Please, stop making the Word of God comfortable for the selfish desires of this messed up thing that we call "society".


One thing I have seen today, also the most popular, is the saying "God loved, so we should love."
The thing is, that is absolutely right.
God does say "Love one another, as I have loved you"; and frankly, if that is all that the saying means then it is very accurate.
However, that line is usually followed by something along the lines of "Proposition 8", which therefore means it has now become a support group.

Like I said earlier, there is a HUGE difference between loving and supporting something.

I can say right now that I LOVE homosexuals , that doesn't meant that I support the homosexual lifestyle.

Also Jesus says "I love the sinner, I hate the sin."
--That is a PRIME example of loving and supporting.

I love who you are, I don't support what you do.


Another thing that I have seen today, is something along the lines of "God created homosexuals for a reason!"

-This is sadly mistaken.

God did not create homosexual people, in fact in His Word, it's pretty much the exact opposite.

In the VERY FIRST book of the Bible.

"So God created human beings in HIS OWN IMAGE. In the image of GOD He created them; male and female He created them" Genesis 1:27

God created people in His own image.

He created people to live like He did, if they just believe.

And if you believe with your heart that Jesus is the Son of God, it should MAKE people that are following the patterns of the world to want to REPENT just by observing you.

As Christians, that is one of our main focuses: to make disciples of ALL nations (that doesn't just mean countries, necessarily) and to repent from the patterns of this world and have an attitude of Christ that others might see and believe.

Christ did not have an attitude like Proposition 8, as a matter of fact in the Old Testament in Genesis 19 He destroyed a city for reasons, one main reason being homosexuality.


One final thing that I have seen today is, "We are no longer under Old Testament law!"
-High Five! You're right.


However, homosexuality, sexual immorality, abortion, and other issues are seen in the New Testament as well.

I will use one example found in 1 Corinthians:
"Don't you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don't FOOL yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or abusive, or cheat people-none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God." 1 Corinthians 6:9-10

*you may put your spiritual checklist down now*

This verse also brings up another argument that says "well if homosexuality is immoral, so is sexual immorality so we are all going to Hell." The first part of that statement is true, the second part...eh, check out the very next verse in this Chapter:

"Some of you were once like that. But you were cleansed; you were made holy; you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God." (v. 11)

In verse 11, Paul is talking about repentance.

Repentance means completely doing a 180 from the acts that you have previously been guilty of and changing your lifestyle completely around to exemplify Christ.

Some people are guilty of sexual immorality, some people are guilty of other things found in 1 Corinthians 6, and those people have also repented from it which is a beautiful sight to see.

It's never to late, friends.


Last but not least, there is God's definition of marriage which is that marriage should be between "a man and a woman" there is no "if, and, or but" in that definition.



To wrap up, I just wanted to suggest that if you don't believe a specific part of the Bible, you don't believe the Bible.

Unfortunately for some people, the Word was not meant to be a buffet where people can come pick and choose what they believe in and still somehow fit in and be "popular" in this society.

Love everyone. Please, don't support everyone. And finally, as Christians we are called to live like Christ that others would turn away from the patterns of this world, please don't miss that.


I love every one of you.


-Lathan

why I'm leaving Arkansas.

Dear Friends,

As some of you may know, this is my last semester at the University of Arkansas. I am both saddened to leave such incredible people behind, but elated to jump on the plan for my life that was destined for me before I was even know by my parents.

God has really been at work in my life throughout the past year, and challenging me and taking me places I never even dreamt I would think about going to. However, this journey has been one of the biggest blessings in my life.

At the University of Arkansas, I was majoring in Criminal Justice/Psychology, and I honestly had no clue why. God really got a hold of me and said "I KNOW your plans, I KNOW what you're going to be doing 5 years from now, stop selfishly determining your future, and let me handle it." So, I realized how stubborn and spiritually immature I was becoming, and gave my future up to my Father.

For those of you that know my past, it wasn't unicorns and rainbows. And I firmly believe, more so now, that was given to me for a reason, and that reason involves my future. I have always had a passion for the precious children of God and I yearn to include them in my life in some aspect.

After praying continuously for direction, I have never felt more at peace, and more accountability at any campus in America than I felt at Biola University. Biola is a private school in Los Angeles, CA and is where I will finish out my Undergrad/maybe some Grad studies for College.

I know what you're thinking, LOS ANGELES?? That place is sketch and dark and gross. To that I respond, bring on the uncomfortable, if I let Jesus flow out of every part of me the result would be nothing less than unbelievable.

So, what are your plans now, Lathan? My plan is still being determined, but I am deciding between two different majors, or potentially another double major, but my future is as follows: I firmly believe God has given me a gift, a gift of communication, and a gift of interacting in a Spiritual way with many people that cross my paths. SO, I plan to go to Seminary and pursue a degree in Pastoral Ministry or Youth Ministry and also become a certified Counselor so I can spend some of my time as a Child/Trauma Counselor with the God's precious little ones.

You're going to be a Pastor? How are you going to make a living? To that I respond, money is an object, although a necessity of an object, it's an object. Experiencing Christ and being able to talk about Christ to the Church on a weekly basis, is more than enough "money" than I would ever need and God promises that He provides.


I am going to genuinely miss the friendships that I have built in the beautiful land of Fayetteville, and I am incredibly excited about what the future holds for me and my walk with Christ.


I whole-heartedly say that I was living for my selfish desires and what I wanted, and not what Christ wanted and there is a verse in the Word that I have been chewing on ever since this whole roller-coaster of a journey began and it is what I will leave you with:


"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by FAITH in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." Galatians 2:20


and, one more...

"Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way YOU think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you , which is good and pleasing and perfect." Romans 12:2




God bless each and every one of you.