Day 38 of my beautiful journey.

I took this picture in may of 2010, on my trip to Cali. It has ever since been the background on my phone. It reminds me not only of my trip which was incredible, but how wonderful God's creation. :) beautiful.

Day 37 of my beautiful journey.

Ya know I'm not even sure how long it has been now, as I sit here and try to remember when my relationship with Bruce and Sue Berkey began. It has been probably close to 10 years now. But I do know one thing, that those two have changed my life more dramatically then they probably realize and more than most of the people that have invested in me over the years. I know that if I need prayer, the first person I need to call is Sue and more than once I have prayed "Lord, I need prayer right now, please let Sue know to pray for me." Bruce has provided endless wisdom to me and has helped to make me into the man that I am today. I am so thankful that the Lord brought them into my life. As I sit here and recall my many years with them and all of the wonderful times I have had with them it is very difficult to hold back the tears. They accepted me into their family as one of their own. I was invited to birthday parties, mother's day and the list could go on and on. They are beautiful people and the Lord has used them mightily in my life. Today Sue sent me a wonderful note over facebook, that reminded me just how blessed I am to have them. Beautiful.

Day 36 of my beautiful journey.

I know with out a shadow of a doubt that the Lord has called me to youth ministry. Working with students is a huge passion of mine, and tonight was the best night I have had in a long time. After a few months on hiatus from youth ministry, tonight I was finally able to start to get back into the swing of things. It's a new group of youth, with a whole new set of challenges, but I can't remember the last time I was this excited. Although I will say one thing, I totally understand what some of my mentor pastors have said in the past, there is nothing more exhausting then preaching. It exhausts you spiritually, emotionally and physically. No one that hasn't preached could ever begin to understand the exhaustion that comes after a Spirit-led lesson. It's like the Spirit's way of saying 'good job'. Tonight was beautiful. It may not have been beautiful to anyone else, but it was beautiful to me.

Day 35 of my beautiful journey.

Ok now I'm caught up!

Notes are such a beautiful thing. There is nothing quite as nice as receiving an unexpected note note left by someone that cares for you. The note on the side here was left for me by my wife. She was in my office while I was out and snuck this note onto my desk. What a beautiful surprise. I do a terrible job of this, perhaps thats something I need to work on...

Day 34 of my beautiful journey.

Ugh I missed a day. my bad.

The beautiful moment actually came last night as I was doing my nightly devotions with my wife, (which is beautiful in and of itself.)

We have been reading through 2nd Samuel. And last night we read about David running from not only his own kingdom, but his own son, Absalom. In the midst of all of this David says something incredible in verses 25 -26. He says "If the Lord sees fit, he will bring me back to see the Ark and the Tabernacle again. But if He is through with me, then let him do what seems best to him." Wow. I would've been ranting and raving. I would've been furious! But not David. I know now why he is called a man after God's heart.

beautiful.

God today make me into a man after YOUR heart.

Day 33 of my beautiful journey.

Carry-in dinners are my favorite. I love seeing the body of Christ coming together to share their recipes, and fellowship together. It is always so wonderful to be a part of. I miss the good ole' NMC C.O.R.N. nights... Chad, Brad and I used to love those nights... ahh good memories. Carry-in dinners are beautiful... and tasty too!

Day 32 of my beautiful journey.

Today as I sat on a bench at wal-mart, I started watching people as they walked in and out of the store. (I was waiting for my wife f.y.i.). There were lots of kids. My favorite kids were the ones sitting in the carts, or sleeping in the carts, lol. There was one little boy that had just entered the store and he was sitting in that little seat. He had chubby, rosy red cheeks and blue wire rim glasses and he was thrilled to be in that seat! His elated smile as he surveyed the world from this new height said it all.

Children are beautiful and I totally understand why Jesus used such strong words about protecting them.