Journey to the Summit

     As I sit in my office this morning, I am reminded of how much I want to be outside . . .and how extremely jealous I am that my best friend is in Colorado, climbing mountains – while I am not. If you know anything about me, it is this – I have an affinity for the outdoors, and I would much rather be outside than inside, on just about any given day. With that said, I like hiking and climbing the best out of anything I get to do in the outdoors.
You may be asking yourself . . . “Self, why is he talking about how much he loves the outdoors?” Well, your answer lies in the verses I was reading this morning (and a book I read just a few weeks ago). But first things first!
     In the book of Isaiah, we find a particular passage that thrills my soul in many ways, but especially because of the specific words that Isaiah had to say about the nations of Judah and Jerusalem. In the second chapter of his writings, we find him saying this:

“In the last days the mountain of the LORD's temple will be established as chief among the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and all nations will stream to it.
Many peoples will come and say,
‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob.
He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.’
The law will go out from Zion, the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.”

     As I read this particular passage (which is found in verses two and three), my soul jumped because of pure excitement. It is nature that thrills me in ways that I cannot describe, and even pictures can do nothing to describe the sheer isolation that you feel in the wilderness. It is only you, God, and His creation – which can be exciting and terrifying too.
     This is also true in life, because sometimes the best thing for our hearts is to get away from all the noise, clamor, hustle, and bustle of the world – and to retreat into the heart of the wilderness, where we can hear directly from the voice of God.
     The book I was telling you about is called Touching The Void by Joe Simpson. It is one man’s miraculous story of survival, when tragedy happened on the side of a snow-covered mountain. I tell you about this book, because it made me think of all the trials that we face in life. Just like Joe and Simon were climbing in insanely hard conditions, they never gave up; almost as if the entire book was a metaphor for the will of the human soul.

     The fact of the matter is that when we climb these mountains in our lives, there will be trials that must be faced, elements that must be braved, and obstacles that must be over come but in the end the reward is the sweetest thing in the world, that nobody can quite put into words. On the top of our life’s mountain is God, and through these trials he will teach us to walk in his ways; just like Isaiah talked about. So, let’s climb to the summit, overcoming each obstacle together, and hopefully we will learn something about ourselves, and our Savior along the way.

What Matters Most?

This was the first newsletter article that I wrote for the church I am currently serving at, FBC St. Clair, Missouri. I hope it provides some encouragement to those that are reading it.


I was reading this morning, and I came across a passage in Isaiah 40. It’s amazing how the Lord reminds me how our lives are incredibly fragile. In every way, our very existence depends upon the Lord (whether we realize it or not), because each breath is a gift from the Lord. Like Master Oogway (the turtle sage in the movie Kung Fu Panda) says, “Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That is why it is called the ‘present.’" In this respect I agree with the old turtle, because each moment we are given, on earth, by the Lord should be treasured
From here we have a choice to make . . . do we acknowledge that the Lord is in complete control of the things that happen in our lives – even down to the smallest detail; OR do we choose to ignore God in the equation and promote a self-centered focus. This is where it is crucial to put the focus on God, and not on ourselves, because the Lord is waiting for our attention before He moves before us in a mighty way.
The fact of the matter is, as the passage in Isaiah talks about, the beauty of the world will fade. There are no if(s), an(s), or but(s) about the fact that the world won’t last forever. . .but the Word of our God will. I hope and pray that you will take this to heart, because the things of this world won’t last; and as the old saying goes, “It doesn’t matter how many possessions you have in this life, because you can’t take them with you when you leave this earth.”
My prayer is that you would really focus on the Lord and evaluate your relationship with him, based on these couple of questions:
•What really matters most to you?
•In all seriousness, do we put more value in material things and earthly possessions?
•OR does God’s Word mean more to us than anything else?

It’s something to really think about.

What is a real man?

*A quick word of caution - It may seem like I'm bashing women in this post, but I hope you won't take it that way because that's definitely not how I intend it to sound.*

Is it just me, or is it the typical mainstream image of an actual man - that bothers me . . . and I mean it really gets under my skin. I hope I'm not the only one, but in case I am, here is what I mean.

It seems that in today's culture, it's completely okay to be a womanizing, sarcastic, untrustworthy, lazy, uncommitted, un-devoted, shallow, hollow, and void person(s) that calls themselves "men." It seems like the world, wants for men to be followers rather than leaders. We were meant for nothing more than to follow around our counterparts (sorry ladies) and agree with them on every single issue, under the sun. . . or so it seems.

What would it look like for the men around you to actually stand up for what they believe? Would it be transformational for them? Their communities? Their cities? The state? The nation?

What if men stood up for their families? Their girlfriends (If applicable)? Their friends? Heck, what about standing up for themselves?

What would it require to believe in an ideal? What would it take to have passion about even the smallest things in their lives?

I challenge each person reading this to look beyond what the "men" around you give as a sad, effortless portrayal of what manhood is actually supposed to be - but to see them as the man that they could be.

Remember, Men were not created to be followers, soft-handed, "agreeing", spineless creatures. . . but we were created in the image of God Almighty - with all the ferocity, courage, and bravery that He could place into a vessel meant to serve Him. A warrior, fighting for each "battle" in his life with a calm and controlled restraint; hearing the cries of the afflicted, and answering their call.

That's what I think a real man is anyway. . .

Feel free to let me know what you think.

Another day, another new story

Well here it is, the last semester of my college life, and I'm on the downhill slide - as far as finishing goes. It's kind of crazy to look back on all the people that have crossed my path in my time here. I've seen a lot, experienced a lot, and seen a lot of change . . . some good, some not so good.

It's exciting to think about the future, and all that it holds. The new faces I will meet, the new adventures to begin, and the new things I get the opportunity to learn about. At the same time, it's also the most scary thing I think I've ever had to deal with up to this point.

Change is not always a bad thing, but it is a scary thing. If I just step back and think of how far I have come, to the place that I am at now, all I can really do is stand in awe of what Christ has done in my life. In the good times and the bad He has stood right alongside of me; picking me up and setting me back on my feet whenever I fell.

If I could change anything, I wish that close friendships didn't have to fade like they do. I think that's the thing that I look back on, and I want to reclaim in my own life.

My life is a story, and this is only the most recent chapter . . . so what's YOUR story? I'd love to hear about it.