Post Number 3

I really am not all that good at thinking up titles for my blog posts. But when I start blogging on certain topics I'll start using relevant titles...

Technically at this point I doubt any youth are reading my blog. Once our website gets up however, I'm hoping that you all will read these posts as I do hope they will eventually be a help to you.

But for kicks and giggles I'm going to write stuff down anyway.

I have a new whiteboard in my office and I've got quite a schedule written up on it. For January we have a parent/student lunch on Jan 10th, We're going to go to the crown center in KC to go ice skating, and we're going to start a high school study. In February we have the Super Bowl Party, True Love Waits study, and hopefully another hockey game. We'll see how that goes.

Well that's it for today. My brain isn't really working all that well as I'm still busy cramming it full of information for my finals this week.

So I leave you with a Bible verse. "Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity." - 1 Timothy 4:12

Thanksgiving

It is that time of year again. Time to give thanks for everything that God has blessed us with.
After listening to the sermon on Sunday which covered 1 Thess. 5:18 which says, "give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."

It seems to me that giving thanks should not be just for one day only. Giving thanks is a year round, continuous thing. There are so many things we as Christians can and should be thankful for. For instance, Christ gave his life for us. That is the greatest thing gift we have ever and will ever receive. Everyday we should be thanking God for his mercy and grace.

My family just left to go back to Oklahoma this evening. It was very good to see them. I am thankful for my upbringing and the fact that I have a family who loves me as much now as they did 25 years ago. It is this blessing that God has provided me with that is so unheard of in today's society. Not many kids can say they have a loving home, or even parents who are still together. I am very thankful for what God has given me.

Ania's family is leaving tomorrow. It was also very good to see them. My wife is another person who had an amazing upbringing in a good Christian home. The love that they extend to me is just as much as my family and I am very blessed to be accepted into a family, a culture, and a way of life.

God is good. I have so much more to be thankful for. A nice apartment, nice furniture, food in my refrigerator, electricity, running water, heat, a car, nice electronics and appliances. So much that we take for granted that we just don't think about...

So... Happy Thanksgiving one and all!!!

First Entry

So I'm sitting here ruminating...

And I'm thinking to myself....

Why is it so hard to live a Christian life? Why can't it be easy?

As many of you know I just got married 4 months ago this Thursday and let me tell you marriage is a great thing! However, it's not an easy thing. My wife and I are devout Christians who love the Lord with everything we are. So theoretically two Christians who are married to each other should have an easier time being married than say... two non-Christians.

It's amazing how we think sometimes. That was definitely my thought going into marriage. However, I have come to realize that I cause a lot of problems!!! I'm not a perfect Christian... granted nobody is, but it seems that my personality is not super compatible with anybody else on this planet, which makes living with me very difficult for my wonderful wife.

So what makes it so hard to be married?

The same thing that makes it hard to be a Christian.

Sin


Satan has this knack of sneaking into our lives when we are at our happiest or best. When we are really on fire for God, or we are really trying to live a better Christian life. He comes in whenever we're down and out too. Satan is just always trying to trip us up. This makes life really hard. It reminds me of a Relient K song called "Softer to Me" Basically the song is a question to God... "God, could you please make my life just a little bit easier?"

The truth is we will never be able to get away from sin. We will never be able to get away from Satan's temptations. He will always tempt us and try to make us stumble or fall, but it's how we deal with that temptation that really matters.

Seek God's face in everything that you do. Nothing is too trivial or too small for God. Cast all your cares, worries, and troubles on Him, because He can take it!!! He will help if you just ask. When we are at our weakest... when we are at our worst... never think that God can't take you back. God will always take us back if we sincerely want to return.