Hurting

The Spring Semester is in full swing! Three weeks have come and gone, and papers and tests have arrived. I have always enjoyed starting a new semester, because it gives you the opportunity to start things on the right foot. I always vow to be more studious than the previous semester, but for some reason I end up getting stuck in the root of mediocrity. You know? Just doing enough to get by. However, so far this semester I have been true to my vow about my studies. I am actually on top of all of my required reading and homework! This semester is looking good.

Not only are the academics on all four cylinders, but also the athletics. I play on the Ozark Baseball team, and we have been working out for the past three weeks. We run, lift weights, throw the ball around and hit in the cage. Sometimes it gets pretty depressing knowing that we still won't play a real game for another month, but all of our hard work will pay off when the season rolls around. Besides playing on the baseball team, I play on an intramural basketball team called the Gamophobes (the fear of marriage). We had our first game last night, and we played very good! WE won by 18 points, and we upset the #1 team which catapulted us to the top of the rankings.

But on a serious note, sports are not everything. They have always played a huge role in my life, but I do not live for sports. I am not attending Ozark so I can play sports. I am at OCC so I can better equip myself to lead teenagers to a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. Since high school, I have known that I wanted to go to Ozark, but I never really felt a strong passion for youth ministry. I guess I was just doing it, so I could have a plan for my life.

But this semester has really opened my heart and my eyes to what youth ministry is about. It is not an occupation but a mission. I am reading a book for my Counseling to Youth class called Hurt. This book takes a look inside the world of today's teenagers. Personally, I look around and I see kids who have no purpose. They try to find worth in friends, sex, and material objects. Their search never ends because nothing will satisfy them. I want to....I NEED to help the youth of America find that they do have purpose and love in their life. Even if they can't find it in their families or friends, Jesus has what they need. Teenagers need to know that they are loved by an all-powerful God who would do anything to have them in his family. He would even go so far as to kill his own son.

Before I felt like I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with my life, but now God has instilled within me a passion for teenagers. I Hurt for the kids who have not met my Jesus, and I want to show Him to them. What are you hurting for?

The Great Romance

I am like most people on this earth...Not only do I breathe oxygen and I poop, but I love movies! They are so entertaining. I like action-packed films, movies that have plots thickened with mystery, and the occasional happy-go-lucky movie that makes you want to smile and change the world. However, I will watch a chick-flick from time to time. I'll even squirt out a couple of tears to appease the females in the room. Then they can finally confirm their thoughts..."wow...Charlie really is a cool guy who appeals to his emotional side...I should date him."

But on a serious note, these "chick-flicks" are full of romance and love. Women love these stories of true romance when a man will fight to the end for his beloved, even if it costs him his life. There are other movies like "A Walk to Remember" that just shows a guy's pure motive for chasing after a girl...love. Why do girls like these types of movies, and dream that they too may one day find that type of love? Because the real world does a crappy job of displaying pure, selfless love.

The truth of the matter is that the Greatest Romantic story was not made in Hollywood, California but on a wooden cross 2,000 years ago. That is The Great Romance.

This break I read a book that outlined what The Great Romance looked like. It was a fictional story, but it really opened up my eyes to how great the love of our God is. He died for us, because we are not willing to die to ourselves. To be completely honest, I did get a little teary-eyed when I finished this book. I felt so stupid, because I believed that ONLY girls could like romance and love stories, and here I am blubbering over something called The Great Romance!

No one is too tough and manly to accept God's love. He is in love with everybody...even guys. It has just been kind of hard for me to acknowledge and accept this love because I seems so un-manly to be loved and romanticized. But God's love is the greatest love story on the earth, and I do accept it and cherish, and I hope you do the same.

O......and happy new year.