Cielo

I recently heard a song called "Cielo" by Phil Wickham which was on his "Heaven and Earth" album; and the Spiritual imagery and challenge in that song have challenged me. The lyric (s) that stick out to me are "I can't bow low enough, I can't bow low enough at the vision of you my God" and also "I can't lift my hands high enough, I can't lift my hands high enough when I'm reaching for you my God". WOW...no matter low, how prostrate I am spiritually or physically, it is NOT low enough and no matter how high I reach, how much I desire to worship him corporately seek him to worship Him with my whole being, it is not enough to truly express how GREAT OUR GOD IS. It's not that this is news to us, but it is a challenge to me, a challenge to pursue and a challenge to respond. A challenge to pursue Him, with my life, with my worship, within my ministry, my marriage, all the while knowing that this goal will not be completed until Glory (then we get to worship forever!!). This is also a challenge to respond to God, respond to His leading, the Spirit's prodding and the scripture's teaching. Katie and I are earnestly seeking the Lord's face and learning what it means to depend on the Lord, and to trust him...TRUST Him. Psalm 37:5 says, "Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act." Sounds simple...commit, trust, and he will act; but we know that it is not simple. The previous verse, (Ps 37:4) tells us to "take delight in the Lord and he will give you your heart's desires"... I must be in close fellowship with the Lord, so that my desires, and wants will be God- mandated and will align with his purpose and his plan. God's timing is always perfect and his paths are ALWAYS straight. We need but ONLY trust....which, after trusting him with your life through salvation, begins with worship, seeking to get low enough and seeking to reach high enough. I am praying God shows me his will each day, through everything and that I am in tune enough to head and follow Him. Be encouraged today, while we cannot reach high enough or bow down low enough He is pleased with genuine worship, and our GOD will meet us there, right where we are..and for that I am thankful

JUNE 11...a day which will live in "spectacularity"

I'm heading back to Fort Myers on Tuesday and getting married in 9 days!!! It's hard to believe it's almost here; I have been counting down to this day for 350 some odd days and counting down to marrying Katie for....7 years or so. God is good, and I cannot wait to be forever joined with the love of my life, with my partner; I feel so incredibly blessed. If I were to attempt to explain how excited I indeed am... well I'm not quite sure how to convey that... but for me I'd say it's like taking the excitement level on Christmas Eve when your 10 years old, and multiplying it by a thousand.... and even then I cannot do my excitement justice. This whole next week is going to be incredible, spending time with my dear family and friends, spending some quality time with the boys and of course being with Katie.. and knowing that is is not for a three day visit!!!! And (a quick sidenote), my beloved Heatles are in the Finals...which doesn't hurt the excitement level....Katie is praying for a four or five game series so the finals aren't on when were in Mexico... I have to admit, although I want the Heat to wrap it up quickly..it would be pretty spectacular to watch the finals on my honeymoon....haha...anyways.. We serve a great God, who's timing is always perfect, who's paths are always straight; and this next week, next Saturday has been worth all the wait up to this point and will be worth the wait of these next few days. Jeremiah 29:11 tells us that the Lord knows the plans that He has for us, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future." I am thankful for my future, the known and the unknown!! All I know for sure, is that I get to marry Katie White next weekend...and that my friends is spectacular!!

Let'sss GOOO

Well, Katie has graduated, I am moving to our new place, the place that Katie and I will be starting our lives together in... CRAZY... and I'm getting married in 24 days, I'll be back in the FM 3 weeks from right now getting pumped for the wedding! It's been a blessed, challenging time for me, well a wild year for me, a time of growth, personally, spiritually, musically,a year that I would not trade way, BUT I am even more excited for the year coming up! As my one year any @ FBCO approaches and of course the wedding, I find myself thankful for the past and very excited/ ready for the future. I am more excited for June 11th than I have been for anything else in my life, I can't believe it's finally coming, thank the Lord. As I embark on my last few weeks of bachelorhood, I grow more excited about the coming months and years.... and am trying to figure out how I am going to DVR all of my shows and Katie's... HAHA...anyways, God is good, trust Him in all things... and your paths will indeed be straight!

I'm thankful for some warmer weather coming...

March is almost upon us... which means my 23rd bday is coming up, and it will soon be less than three months until I get to marry Katie! I have never been this excited about anything in my life, and have never looked forward to anything as much as I am looking forward to June 11th. In the mean time, I have been asking God to help me live in the moment and make the most of the next three months. I obviously want it to fly by, but I don't want to miss out on any experience God might have for me, and I want to give all I've got to the Lord and specifically to the worship ministry @ fbco. I am so blessed to have this job and get to do what I love to do for my job... and yet its' so easy to take it for granted.. I am blessed to be in this position, and am here by God's grace and provision alone. Don't miss out on the simple blessings in life, God truly does work in mysterious ways! In other news, my bro Rob and and his wife, Taryn are expecting, I am so happy for them, and pumped to be a an uncle, and quite honestly, am just pumped to see Rob as a dad...priceless. I am so thankful for my brother and my family, for my beautiful fiancee, soon to be wife, and for the church God has called me too. I am thankful for new friendships, as well as for my longtime friends that I get the chance to keep up with. Spring is coming, a time of new things, fresh starts and new beginnings. Remember to be thankful for the things in life, for the good things, for the hardships (not quite as easy).. God's got it all under control, we just have to learn to trust in Him, TRUST in Him fully and completely. "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (Phil 4:13). We have to believe that, I have to believe that. You can get through whatever it is your going through right now. His love is wider, deeper, and rings truer than your hardships, no mater how serious that maybe!
Until next time my friends...

The stain in the fabric..

Now that I have been here O'Fallon for over four months, the newness has officially worn off; I don't get lost driving around quite as much anymore and I can get to places other than just taco bell, church, and my apartment without using sal (my GPS). I am settled in, no longer the "new" guy @ church, although still pretty fresh, its' nice to not have that monicar anymore. I am very thankful for my church family, there have been families on staff and in the congregation that have taken a vested interest in me. Ministry is for the Lord and all about the people, it sure is nice to be blessed with some new friends in this journey. A couple weeks ago I went to the Catalyst Leadership conference in Atlanta, and got to go with my dad, that was such a cool experience. It is so cool to be in ministry and the same specific area of ministry that pops is. There, I heard some great speakers and theologians and was able to take some good stuff away that I would like to use in my own ministry and apply to my personal life. We seems to always want more and more and we want it "now"! Andy Stanley talked about controlling our appetites in ministry.. wait for God's timing. God is teaching me humility, patience, and trust. He knows what's best and when it needs to happen, who am I to challenge or doubt that?!? Which is indeed what I am doing when I question His timing or long for better days. We must learn to be content in any and every situation; CONTENT. Every moment we go through, and situation we work through is meant to make us stronger, to draw us closer, and make our ears more in tune to the still, small leading of God's voice. John 15:5 tells us that apart from God, we can do "nothing"... seems pretty simple; we must first follow God, trust God, then through Him, with Him, and because of Him, we can accomplish things. Rob just told me a quote recently, that I have not forgotten and try to apply as a guideline to my part in ministry. The late Count Zinzindorf said, "Preach the gospel, die and be forgotten" WOW... that is what ministry is all about, its not about me, my desires, my dreams, and desires, my career aspirations or even my day to day happiness... its about God and his word and empowering others with the gospel. Let's remember that in our lives, we are all in a from of ministry, what does yours look like? Let's help people forget us and remember the cross.
Until next time...

All's well that begins well..

Well, its hard to believe, this Saturday nights service will be my 8th here @ FBCO; I've been here for 2 months! Things are going great thus far, I am really getting plugged in and getting to know the staff, making some friends and formulating relationships with people in the church. My apartment is looking good (due in no small part to mom's touch); and I am enjoying rocking the bachelor pad. Kate is coming to visit in less than I week, man i can't week; being away from her has been tough, I am more ready now than ever to marry this girl, COME ON JUNE 11!!!!! While this transition has been a challenge, it has been exciting, exhilirating and grown me as a believer and as a man; it's pretty cool to get paid to do what you love to do, to get paid to lead worship and get to worship God.... pretty awesome! God is teaching me to be content, to be calm, and to trust, trust Him completely; something I have struggled with in my walk. There have been lonely times up here, trying times, confused times, but through it all, I know that God is in control, so there's really no need for me to stress about it. I am blessed to turned to this chapter of my life so quickly after college, and thank God for bring here to O'Fallon. I am thankful for the church, for all the people and for my position here, truly a time of growth for me. Man, I still can't believe I live in Illinois... wild. Anyways, thanks for reading, until next time...
holler

The Going's On: Life in the O'Feezy

The Going's On: Life in the O'Feezy: "Well, as most of you probably now, these past few weeks, 2 months as a matter of fact have been an absolute whirlwind. I just wanted to util..."