the life & times of t andrews

check out my South African blog

2009-10-28T14:02:00.002-04:00

I am now in South Africa for the next 13 months. Please be checking my blog eppesafrica.blogspot.com for regular updates of my ministry there.

I will still be blogging here as well with the more random non-AIA stuff. take care!

Charlie Davies and suffering

2009-10-14T00:01:00.004-04:00

Today I received a text from a friend telling me of the car accident Charlie Davies, a forward on the men's national soccer team, was involved in. Upon my further research I found that his injuries required several hours of surgery and he will be missing 6-12 months of competition where he will be undergoing extensive rehab.

It still amazes me why God takes people through such events to reveal Himself. That was my prayer for Charlie and the other friend who survived the crash as one passenger passed away. God works all things for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. I trust in his hard work ethic that Charlie will bounce back from this but my heart quickly turns to where his heart is in relation to Jesus. I dont know where Charlie is spiritually but I pray that this accident is more than an accident...that the crash breaks down Charlie's heart to see who God truly is and that our God has a plan for his life. My prayers reach to his teammates that are believers in Christ that they can use this to showcase God's plan and let the players know that God has a plan for their lives. Just because these guys are 'famous' doesnt mean that they dont hurt or have pain. Hardship and suffering are real. God has given us suffering as a gift (Phi 1:29) and are you really embracing that? Are you looking at suffering in your own life as tragedy or as a present 'wrapped in a bow' as John Piper puts it ready to be used for God's glory?

Let us pray over Charlie and his friends tonight for God to show them mercy/grace/forgiveness/life/love in ways they never thought possible...

hilarious soccer celebration!

2009-10-13T23:59:00.002-04:00

South Africa!

2009-09-25T21:33:00.007-04:00

Today I reached my support totals for my year in South Africa! how amazzzing is that? Just over 6 months ago I started a ginormous goal of raising support. Through this journey God has taught me so much. Now I ache to serve the Lord and be used for His Kingdom. I will be leaving in just over a month so the time is comin quick!

Johannesburg awaits...

Heaven and Earth

2009-09-25T20:58:00.008-04:00

Phil Wickham has a new album out and its incredible...Phil's passion to worship God through song is undeniable through his lyrics and sounds. I think its also amazing that his music is getting in to worship sets around the country. This past Sunday at church his song "Beautiful" was played which happens to be my favorite Wickham tune! He has quickly turned in to one of my favorite artists. You can download his new album Heaven and Earth at PhilWickham.com.

an unforgettable weekend / patience

2009-09-23T18:11:00.005-04:00

unforgettable, amazing, surreal....those are are just a few of the words to describe my weekend in Hershey, PA. My best friend Jon was married to his amazing bride Jennie. From the karaoke on Thursday to my drive home Sunday night it all seemed as if it was a dream....

God has allowed me to interact with some amazing people in my lifetime and this weekend was no exception. I was able to meet amazing and Godly people and also reunite with some old friends. It was special to see Jon and Jennie get married because they did it right. In so many ways they waited on the Lord in the process leading up to getting married. To me its an amazing story of God's love and plan for His people. God's word talks of patience and living a life for Christ in the first book of Colossians:
¹⁰And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, ¹¹being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully ¹²giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light
Jon has focused on God and in-turn God led his steps along his journey with Jennie.

I think its hard for us to wait on God like Jon and Jennie did. We are human and we put limits on ourselves and how much we can take. I quickly forget how a God-pleasing life exemplifies patience and a steadfast spirit of obedience. I pray that I take that example of patience from Jesus in to next year in South Africa. He, himself, was patient for thirty years leading up to a three year ministry. I desire a patience with a new culture, patience with the distance between myself and friends from home, patience with building new relationships. My trust is in Him...

VMA

2009-09-16T14:10:00.002-04:00

So I dont watch MTV very much but I did catch some of the highlights and low lights of the award show the other night. the best moment had to be Jay-Z's and Alicia Keys performance of "The Empire State of Mind'. It was just done so well and not to mention the song is hot...it really makes you want to be in the City. I figured I would put it up for anyone who hadnt seen it.

At 81% raised...South Africa is comin on soon.

a week in the Rockies

2009-08-23T16:20:00.002-04:00

Last week I returned from Colorado after having one of the most incredible weeks of my life. At Copper Mountain Resort Campus Crusade and all its ministries, including Athletes in Action, gathered to train all the individuals going abroad for the coming year in areas such as: what its like to share your faith in the country you are going to, how to resolve team conflict, and how to love your ministry team. As for attendance at this briefing in Colorado there were about 5 people specific to the ministry of Athletes Action among 200 some others with Campus Crusade.

It was an amazing week to get to know so many others giving a year of their life to go and share Jesus with the Nations. There are two people in particular at the briefing that impacted me in a tremendous way...

Riley Wogamon is on staff with Athletes in Action. She played soccer at Syracuse and like me was a goalkeeper. Riley and I will be on the Johannesburg team together doing ministry with a few others in the athletic communities of South Africa. She is an awesome person and it was just great to get to know her and I so look forward to serving alongside with her. We shared our visions for reaching the lost athletes in South Africa and it is just mind blowing to know that our great God is preparing in advance so much for us there in Joburg.

Barrett Grant is a life long friend from Forsyth, Georgia. Our dads attended their residency programs together in Roanoke, Virginia back in the 80's. Barrett and I are 4 years in age apart but that didnt stop God from aligning us together here in Colorado as he is leading a ministry team with Crusade in Durban, South Africa. It was amazing to catch up with him and see how God has matured him. I am so excited to be serving just a few hours north of him next year and I am sure our paths will align in our time abroad. His team going to Durban includes many students from all over the southeast. We met several times in breakout sessions with other teams going to the same region of the world. I am so excited for Barrett to take this step of faith and leadership in the year to come...there team will depart January 2010.

Currently I am at 62% of my support raised. I am sending out a prayer letter soon to keep people up on my ministry even before I get to South Africa. I am so thankful for you following my approach to my year in South Africa. Please continue to pray for my financial needs to be met and for a steadfast approach to my relationship with the Lord as that relationship takes priority before any other...

here are a few pictures from my time in Colorado at the briefing...

getting away

2009-07-17T11:13:00.002-04:00

Im heading up to Hershey, PA for the weekend to take part in the Jon Small Bachelor Bowl 2009. My buddy Jon is having a weekend full of sports and fun to celebrate his getting married in september. Such a momentus occasion!

After the weekend though I am headed to a Cabin near Covington, Va to get away and get quiet with God. I have never done this before but after getting encouragement from friends and REALLY feeling the Spirit's call to get away I will be stepping away for a couple days of being still before Him.

I need this time with Him more than ever. If anyone is out there reading this I would so appriciate your prayers for focus and restoration with God as a result of my couple days on the river.

now we are free

2009-06-30T23:42:00.004-04:00

The past few months for me have been up and down spiritually. Even in support raising for Africa I havent been living in right alignment with God. Its hard for me to put that in words and tell others that I have lost my focus. Now I feel like I have it back...I feel like I restored in the freedom of Christ (Ruth 4:15). It has come through confession and through realizing alot of pain from poor decisions but I am free in Him.

I press on now in life knowing that God's ever flowing grace is just as abundant now as it was when I first received Him. I wanted to put a video up that Ive been searching for. The song in it fits redemption through Christ's atoning sacrifice...the title is 'Now We Are Free'. It comes from the Gladiator soundtrack but this version is live by Andrea Bocelli in the opening ceremony of the 2009 Champions League final in Rome. This whole intro gave me goosebumps watching it. I really wanted the commentators to stop talking so you could just turn up the volume and feel this moment. I have found a feed where these commentators for the most part are silent and giving respect to the moment. I so wish I was a player for one of these teams walking out of the tunnel at this match...but for now I just watch in awe of the moment.

We are forgiven and free in the arms of Jesus....He is always enough...

stepping out of mediocrity

2009-05-17T19:29:00.004-04:00

I think all of us have that thorn in our flesh (2 Cor 7). We have those struggles that really keep us down and behind in full pursuit of God. How many times do we struggle with that thorn before we know that God's strength is made perfect in our weakness? 5, 10, 20 times? You find His strength when the desire for righteousness outweighs the slide of sinful nature.

I hate falling down on my face at times but it really wakes us up to what we need to do and where we need to go. for me I feel like the past 5 months I have been sitting comfortable in a very mediocre form of Christianity. When we are in a very comfortable form of living for Christ we make Christ seem like a mediocre God...and He is by NO means mediocre. I need to truly see and savor Jesus Christ with all that I am to show this world who He really is.

So today I am really stepping out. I am going to step up my time spent with Him, my prayer life, my devotion to guarding the Gospel with all that I am and really knowing it with all of my inmost being. I need to not be afraid to eliminate all distractions to living for those causes either. I have done enough justifying to friends, accountability partners, pastors. Its time to step out of the boat and step it up to a new level of relationship with Jesus.

go Hoos!

2009-05-16T18:52:00.002-04:00

in honor of the UVA - Johns Hopkins game tomorrow at noon on ESPNU I am putting up the highlights I shot in Baltimore from the first meeting of the year. Go get em boys...one more till Foxboro!

back in Tally

2009-04-27T10:52:00.003-04:00

in Brew and Bean coffee shop (tallahassee, fl)

so after about 5 months I am back in Tallahassee. Its kinda bittersweet to be back. I really did like this town. I especially like the people I met here. I miss them more than anything. It has been great catching up and hangin out with some amazing people.

I certainly would have loved to be here longer at FSU. I feel like the rug was puled right out but I gotta go forward! In Romans 8:28 it says 'God works ALL things for good to those who love Him...'. That verse has been really saturating my heart over the past week or so. I think a large part has to do with me going through John Piper's book Future Grace. IT has dived in the that promise that God makes to work in us no matter what ish goes down in our lives. I think it is a tremendously hope-filled promise that we all should go do daily.

So this weekend though I took a road trip with my friend Scott to Athens, GA this past weekend...highlights included:
-crashed my first wedding...(Scott was playing mandolin)
-heard Andy Stanley preach at North Point...a great sermon on God and our country.
-finding and hearing more affirmation through prayer about going to South Africa in the fall.
-The Original Pancake House in Atlanta
-experiencing encouragement in the body of Christ by just meeting solid believers

so all in all it was a great weekend listening to worship and bluegrass and experiencing the great spring weather of the south. Now I'm off to meet with the coaches Bible Study I was a part of last semester at FSU....should be a great reunion!

pursuit

2009-04-07T01:29:00.005-04:00

He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life...John 12:25

what does that mean to you? God is really pressing in to me and helping me understand what it means. Life can be so trivial and made out to be something so important when in all reality all that matters is not your own life or own ambition but really throwing that all away to follow Jesus Christ.
Scripture is so clear that if we do this we will gain eternal life and I dont know many who dont want that.

This is one of those statements by Jesus that has really shaken me to my core over the past few weeks. And the verse before this one in John 12 that talks about a grain of wheat having to die in order to produce fruit is another point of really dying to your own desires in life. How do I die now in life....well I know that I have things I would love to accomplish in my life...desires that I even wish to see come true before I leave for South Africa but honestly I need to die to these desires. I need to pursue what He has given me here and really abandon myself to this call to reach the nations.

Desires may be realized in this time before I leave or in my lifetime but only when the focus isnt on myself or on the desires themselves. The pursuit needs to be on the true pursuer...Jesus.

my sister is headed to cville

2009-03-27T01:18:00.002-04:00

so today my sister found out some amazing news! She was accepted to the class of 2013 at the University of Virginia! Her hard work has been rewarded and I couldnt be more proud of her. She has just persevered though soooooooooo much to get to this day and I really feel this is straight from the Lord (James 1:17). I wish I could visit her next year but I know that I will be able to when I get back. She will have an amazing time!

I need to update this blog more often

I am at 15.8% in raising support for South Africa...God is good!

His promises

2009-03-09T00:07:00.004-04:00

God has been pressing upon me lately the importance of His promises. There are thousands in His word and how often am I mediatating and really praying that I apply them? Well over the past week God has really shown to be faithful in several biblical promises. The one that sticks out most to me in this time is the promise that when we go to God with our prayer and requests, in thankfulness of who He is, He promises to bestow upon us a peace that not one person can comprehend. This promise comes from Philippians 4:7.

This past week my stepmom was killed in a car accident and our family has gone through some rough times. But through my dad's steadfast pursuit of Christ I have seen some amazing promises of God fulfilled right before my eyes. After my dad said His goodbyes to Cathy and her gravesite today he talked to me of this peace that surpasses all understanding....a peace over him that he could only describe as the Spirit of God resting upon Him. And I know and believe too that that is what it is. I know my dad has made so many requests to God over the past few days and I know our amazing God has heard each one of them. God has stayed true to His word. And this has just sparked me to pursue Him deeper. Am I really pressing in to the promises of God...am I testing Him and His faithfulness with a pursuit of Him that exposes me more to be a true follower of Christ?

I struggle at times with guilt from my past mistakes but am I really believing in what His word says is true about me? Am I really dying to my thoughts and taking them captive as God is calling me to do? The bottom line is that I need to press on and press in to His promises and break the pattern of idleness and selfish futility.

God I believe that you are who you say you are....change me and my heart and help me to not waver at all when it comes to trusting your word and diving in to your heart. Help me to become a better man for you and may you increase the desire to become hard after your Word and the promises that it holds. amen

board meetings

2009-02-04T01:00:00.004-05:00

So I read a devotional last week that really hit home. I think it was a sign of what God wanted me to in the week following it so I really sought the guidance of this devo when it spoke of really organizing your life like a CEO would. You are the CEO of your life but you need a great group of board members to guide your company. So I called a bunch of guys last week just sharing my heart and life. And as I thought last week between thoughts of desiring 'stability' in my life I just came to the conclusion that its not really about pursuing stability but pursuing God himself.

I desire stability for the thought of providing that for someone else in my life. I know that life is never about money but if I was to get things going with someone in my life then stability financially would be a must to have on the offering table. I want to have that now but I think God is teaching me more by pursuing Him. Stability will come through our walk with the Lord. He will provide. We must trust that He knows our heart but its a must that we lay our desires and hearts at his feet. I dont need anything else in life other than Christ...not one thing...

The hardest part is putting my dreams of being married and dreams of sharing life with someone at the foot of the Cross. Its really interesting how in once sense you know that God desires to prosper you and give you hope but there is a huge part of me that thinks I can do this part of life on my own and really just to pursue the route that would get me what I want quicker.

All this comes as I wait to hear about a one year STINT with AIA in South Africa. If accepted I would support raise and then aim to leave in Sept. 2009 for one year. If not accepted then I would look to get back in to football most likely.

A verse that really give more meaning now as I look at it is Proverbs 13:12....'hope deffered makes the heart sick..but when desire comes it is a tree of life'.

I press on to meet God and share with Him my specific dreams...after all He aches to hear from His children and we need to go through this life sharing each dream with Him along the way but in the end I desire His will most of all...

Rick Warren's Inauguration Prayer

2009-01-20T17:11:00.003-05:00

I was very proud of Pastor Rick Warren taking a great step in his life and accepting the opportunity to pray at the inauguration of President Obama.
Proverbs 22:29 says:
Do you see a man who excels in his work?
He will stand before kings;
He will not stand before unknown men.

I was reminded of this verse as I heard He was going to be praying today. Pastor Rick has surely excelled in his work and I think this is a direct blessing from God that he was able to pray in front of millions of people and talk about God's glory and might. You could hear the passion in his prayer to God, you could hear his personal cry to how God changed his life, and you could hear Rick's love for the first family as he named each one. This was just an amazing day all the way around but my highlight had to be Pastor Rick's prayer.

the economy and obama

2009-01-19T23:54:00.003-05:00

I havent really felt the economic downturn until the past couple weeks. I have been searching for a job and have not found but just a couple jobs in the food service business that are hiring. It is very frustrating but I press on. I really rest in the desire that God has placed in my life to go abroad and really impact the world through sport.

I have even ventured out to charlottesville this past week to find work. As I was there just a couple days ago I really saw God at work as He provided a great friend who offered me a place to stay for any length of time rent free. God's faithfulness is really all around me and not just in specific instances like that. I think that I need to be more thankful for what I have right now. Even jobless I have so much that I know I do not deserve one bit. In fact most people reading this have more than they need in life. Now that I recognize that how do I need to live differently. Should we give more away when we get to a point like this? More time, more money, more of our freedom?

Tomorrow our great country will swear in President-Elect Obama. I think this is an amazing time in our country and I do believe it is a time of promise for social progress. I just am a bit sick of the Bush-bashing that has gone along with this change of power because even amoungst several difficulties there was alot of resolve shown in his 8 years in office. My sister is actually up there for the inaugrauration and I am so proud that she has taken the opportunity to go and be a part of this. She is with a young leaders program that has been formed to put the kids in front of alot of great speakers and even celebrate tomorrow night at one of the inaugural balls. Her specific ball is located in the National Air and Space Musem! How amazing is that? I will hopefully post some of her pictures soon that she will be bringing back.

updates and thoughts

2009-01-05T19:01:00.006-05:00

After a 2+ year hiatus from Facebook I have decided to return. So far its been great getting back in touch with some old friends and also having the ability to easily communicate with friends all over the planet. Its insane the number of people married now...but i guess the mid 20's is about that time.

I have been job hunting lately. The more I hunt the more I see of how much a blessing it was to actually have a job. So many places are in a hiring freeze...even FSU is one. But I trust in so much more than the job market or a faulty economy. Jesus is the ultimate source of life and fulfillment. I know that will never change. Its actually a gut check time for a lot of people I am sure to see where they really put their hope and confidence.

So I have applied to go abroad to South Africa with Athletes in Action. I should hear back within the month I hope. I just feel this call to make a difference in something so much bigger than myself. I think I am just understanding more of what God has intended us to be: the salt and light of the world. I am so humbled that God chose to give me life and an amazing opportunity to praise Him and bring glory to His name....and bringing Glory to Him is ultimately why we all have come to this earth. Thank you thank you thank you Lord....

prayers for Cathy

2009-01-01T21:04:00.006-05:00

Over the past couple days my stepmom has taken a big turn for the worse. There is just a ton of bondage tearing her life apart from alcohol to a very intense personality disorder. Its so hard to watch her struggle but I continue to believe that God can tear down these walls that are up around her heart.

there is hope from the word...

It shall come to pass in the day the LORD gives you rest from your sorrow, and from your fear and the hard bondage in which you were made to serve
- Isaiah 14:3

we must never stop believing in what Christ has and will continue to accomplish! thank you in advance for any prayers lifted up on Cathy's behalf

soul ties

2008-12-30T00:26:00.006-05:00

Three weeks ago I couldnt have given you any sort of definition as to what a "Soul Tie" is. But as I have researched over the past few weeks I have begun to understand exactly what they are and see a direct connection to them in my life.

a definition:
Two souls can be knit or made to cleave together in a covenant relationship to form healthy ties; they can also be tied or knit together to form bondage and enslavement.

So soul ties can be bad and they can be good. As I began to dive in to this in researching it online I really felt the Holy Spirit really put His anointing and approval over me that seeking out answers about this is a really good thing. I even ordered a book on it so I can go further and really be set free from the ties that hold me down and are unhealthy. I cant even imagine people that lose a healthy soul tie like losing a child of theirs or people who get a divorce like my parents who after many years of marriage still have life long soul ties they have to deal with.

I know I have soul ties and the ones that I can see clearly after understanding this are specific to my past with my physical relationship with women. There are many people of my past that I have ties to. The good outweigh the bad for sure but the bad has brought me down and it has been very hard for me at times. I desire for God to help me through that and as I understand about these soul ties I believe that God alone will show me.

an amazing surprise

2008-12-23T18:18:00.003-05:00

So yesterday was a hard day in alot of ways personally but there was this looming surprise all day that my dad had planned to reaveal to my family. My aunt and stepmom knew too about his surpise but nobody else did. All Sarah-Wynne and I were instructed to do is go pickup my grandparents at their house and come back to Lynchburg and meet at the Blue Ridge Primary care center. When we got there my brother John and his wife Lindsay were there with her family as well. My dad led us in and said that the surprise was that all of us were going to get to see an ultrasound of John and Lindsay's new baby!!!

WOW way to go daaaaaaaad....I didnt think he could hold the surprise let alone do something this cool! haha...Lindsay had known for a few weeks too and it was awesome just all the way around. Seeing my grandparents there was awesome cause they will soon be great-grandparents! I am so hyped to be an uncle too! ....we saw every part of the baby and saw it move all around like the little sea monkey it is!

some ultrasound pics are soon to come! now off to the Bennetts Eve of the Eve Partayyyyyyyy!

thank you Jesus.

andrew claus

2008-12-20T09:53:00.002-05:00

So yesterday I went to my Aunt Kathy's elementary school to play Santa Claus! Until she had asked me last week I had never thought or dreamed of doing it but I am so glad I did! I just got up in front of about 300 kids and read some 'shout outs' from Mrs. Claus and encoraged them to have a safe Christmas! I think Santa definitely needs to visit SuperCuts before Christmas Eve.

yeaaaa John boy!

2008-12-12T14:10:00.002-05:00

Today in Quantico, Virginia my crazy amazing brother John graduated from Officer Candidate School!!!! I am so flippin proud of him. He has accomplished so much and done it all with excellence and it just makes me so honored to be his brother! yeaaaaaaaaa John boy!!!!

a new direction

2008-12-02T23:46:00.010-05:00

So yesterday at 3:30pm I thought I was attending an end of the semester departmental meeting for Sports Video but what I walked in to was a meeting with our Deputy Athletic Director, a rep from Human Resources, and my boss. They told me they were letting me go ..without cause. Its still a shock to me that it has happened. The only basic reasoning that I can infer from this is that my boss and I had our differences and worked through alot but it became too much for him to undertake in his opinion and he decided to let me go. Honestly I will never know exactly why because they cant tell me by law why I was let go. I look back on times where I stood up for injustice around the office with our students and can see that those times could have been seen as defiant but over the past couple months i thought things were going just fine. We had talked through those times where I needed to step up my learning of computer software or to have a better attitude around the office and I saw steady improvement but in the end he saw for me to go. Students that work for us even told me over the past couple days that they do not feel that this is right but they dont have the final say.

The one thing I do know is that God is sovereign. He has a plan for my life and a plan to prosper me. A good friend put in a great verse for me tonight:

'being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ' -Phil 1:6

He is working in this and HE will continue to never leave me in any second of this. I put all my hope in that.

Just before my meeting yesterday where I found out this information I had just wrote an email to Athletes in Action to revisit things with them. My dad and I had a great conversation tonight about where to go from here. He has helped me out tremendously although he can talk for hours upon hours : ). I press on to explore a new chapter in my life. I dont think that is here in town but I press on to know His will and to know where to go from here on out. As I go forward the idea of STINTing (going abroad with AIA for 1-2 years) is more and more attractive.

My heart beats and longs to share life with someone but my dad reminded me tonight that I need to offer stability and security to anyone that would be a part of my life. Right now I cant offer that when I cant see very far down the road and I dont have a ton in savings. Who I spend my life with is really the only hesitation I have upon applying but I need to put my desires at the foot of the cross and I am learning how to do that every day. I press on.

Trusting in Jesus...

glass of water

2008-11-30T00:27:00.001-05:00

an excerpt of an amazing new song, glass of water , from Coldplay's new mini album. def worth downloading.

the face of Jesus Christ

2008-11-26T01:47:00.003-05:00

even though its so late I had to share this....i just had to write....

so I thought tonight was going to be normal...took some laundry...a book...and some free time down to a laundromat about 5 minutes from my apartment. I met a guy down there. We will call him 'B'...obviously homeless...but he helped around the place by putting away trash and cleaning up from time to time. He was in pain...mental pain...he stuttered quite often...His memory lasted 10 seconds...He really couldnt even pronounce his own name but Jesus was there with us. It was just him and I in there. We shared some fast food...we laughed even a few times...at the end of the night he even asked me to pray for Him...and God was there....moving in him and his confusion and brokenness...

What I know is amazing about God is that He has given me a new heart for the 'least of these'. Jesus could have chosen to identify with any demographic of people but he chose the less fortunate...the poor..the people who are in the toughest spot of their lives...'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me' ( Matt 25:40) To be honest I would have never stopped and talked to a person like this a year and a half ago....I just thought I wasnt 'called' to that but thats not it at all. We are all commanded to love...without any bias...any judgment...no precondition....

I credit so much of my new found love for people in life to the ministry I was involved with last year in Fort Lauderdale..called Lovebags... (lovebags.org). These people showed me what its like to love...to touch....to embrace...to offer your everything for the least of these....to not care about how you smell when you come away from hanging out with homeless people for a couple hours....to sit next to them and put your arm around them tonight even if they reek of alcohol( I got a few hugs from my new found friend 'B' tonight!)..to really focus on loving with all that God has made you and push through the parts that feel uncomfortable and press on to know Him through love...and there in that love you find the very face of Jesus Christ...

listening to 'With Everything' - Hillsong from the This Is Our God Album

the future

2008-11-23T13:51:00.003-05:00

shewwwwwweee...the future...

what does God hold for us? Well I think we find that out through our obedience to Him. I know that sounds simplistic but I really do feel that His will unfolds as we seek him in obedience. In true obedience to God all other things fade...not that desires are erased but what matters most is obedience in the here and now. I trust in Proverbs 3:5-6..

Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths

For me it has been an interesting ride here so far in northern Florida. I still feel the desire to reach the nations for Christ in ministry. My heart longs to build in to others on not just a whenever basis but I want that to be my everyday. Now whether that is on a campus or being fully immersed in a foreign country I am not sure. There is a serious desire to leave this country because of the need/suffering/desire I have seen in this world from traveling in the past. I am single now and maybe that is a sign from the Lord to just leave for 1-2 years and go abroad where I have had some amazing experiences in the past with AIA tours and other mission trips. As I write this now is a yearning in my heart for God to show me where to go.

I know for the time being God's will is right here in Tallahassee. I pray that in the darkness of my current vocational environment Jesus shines so bright...because its not all about making teams successful through video its about showing people that there is a Savior and His name is Jesus....I pray I make that known through the example that I live out.

travels, concerts, soccer

2008-11-20T13:03:00.004-05:00

a free Lupe Fiasco show at homecoming...def a good show!

In Auburn with our Women's soccer team for NCAA's. They let me play in practice the night before our first game! I held my own at left center back! yeeeeeeeehaw

Just a funny picture the guys made last year at the Dolphins! Those guys be crazaaaay!

pictures from the past few weeks

2008-11-07T10:07:00.012-05:00

my Dad and I with the Francis Wayles Eppes statue at FSU (Oct. 25)

Myself, Dad, Mike, Teresa, and Jake in front of Wescott on gameday.
It was so great to have those Hokies in for a couple days!

FSU vs Virginia Tech pregame

Downtown Atlanta backdrop over Bobby Dodd Stadium at Georgia Tech

FSU vs. Georgia Tech pregame (Nov. 1)

More pictures will come as the fall progresses. I sure do miss Virginia in the fall because the season changing down here is just temperature and no leaves fallin.

Lets be praying for President-Elect Obama and all other elected officials...
I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. - 1 Timothy 2:1-2

I am going to be an UNCLE!!

2008-11-04T11:32:00.003-05:00

My sister-in-law Lindsay is PREGNANT! YES! ...ahh this is awesome!

i found out a couple weeks ago but I just didnt think about blogging it until last night! Wow this is about the greatest news of the year! I am excited to pray for this baby and just be a part of this process. I have seen how other families get so hype when there brother or sister is sharing in this time of having a baby. I hope I can be in Virginia for the birth!

Lindsay is about 3 months pregnant and the baby is due around May 16 which is my Grandma Dot's birthday! And she said sex of the baby wont be announced until the time of the birth. Just soooooooooo hype about this!

And my brother John who is in Officer Candidate School in Quantico, Virginia for the Marine Corps just called me on Saturday to just share on his time there and also we just got crazy excited about this baby coming along. Pray for him because in Lindsay's pregnancy he wont be able to spend a ton of time with her due to his duties with the Marines.

so pray it up for the health of this baby...and for just added strength to John and Lindsay's marriage in this time apart...

UNNNCLE DREWWWWWW YEAAAAAA

ATL

2008-11-02T22:05:00.006-05:00

the best part of my job other than the ability to invest in the lives of student athletes is the ability to travel. I went back to Fetzer Field at UNC on Thursday where I have had several great memories....I then flew outa RDU to Atlanta to meet our football team Friday for our football game. Friday night I was fortunate to see one of my favorite techno DJ's... DJ Sasha. It was an incredible set and definately a crowd that was crazy cause it was Halloween(and I was one of about 5 who were not dressed up for the holiday). . I was there by myself which was alright but it was largely due to the fact that I still dont know many people here at FSU and it was an expensive concert. I really wish I would have had someone or some friends to go with because it would have been alot more fun.

Atlanta was very fun...other than the loss...you just hate to see a team get within seconds of winning a game and then throw it all away on the goaline.

But the most amazing part of the weekend was on Friday night. I left the concert early and decided to walk home(about a mile and a half)...little did I know but I would run in to some great people. I met several homeless guys on the way back ranging in various ages from young to the very old. I talked to them and most importantly listened to them... As I walked back to our team hotel I actually looked forward to running in to some guys and loving on them. Working with the homeless here in Tallahassee and last year in Fort Lauderdale has really opened my heart up in ways where I never thought possible.

One encounter with an old man named Rudy left me really in awe of who God was. This guy was in a wheelchair hungry and cold but we opened up about our amazing God. And as I was speaking to Rudy I just realized the simple fact that Rudy and I will one day see each other again in Paradise. I know that may sound simple but that fact just blew me away. Rudy is in pain and suffering but he will one day be in no more pain...he will be with Jesus... and as we sat and talked we just laughed with joy over how great our God is...thank you Jesus for bearing the weight of this sinful world to make it possible for us to have eternal life...Rudy and myself...together...in Paradise with you Lord....sooo flippin awesome

Currently reading: 'Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ' - by John Piper.... one AMAZING BOOK! its a really quick book but its packed with some amazing stuff

speaking at Crusade - Part 2

2008-10-28T18:46:00.004-04:00

I know that I made the point that the night at Crusade was big for me. I opened up about some stuff that sat inside me for a long time and really weighed me down...stuff that even people that I was great friends and teammates with didnt know.... But over the past 6 months God has given me incredible victory when I have just been real and opened up to guys in my life and not been afraid of what I look like because in God's truth I am covered by his grace and not shame any longer. I was even so scared in my process to apply with Athletes in Action about my past because it honestly wasnt the greatest but I just need to be real and never ashamed of who I am now. I now embrace that I am a new creation and with that comes the deeper embrace of the person I once was.

He has shown His comfort and Grace in the most intimate ways...and thats what He is all about...showing His forgiveness.

As I sit here tonight in Tallahassee I just take things one day at a time...I take the frustrations of my job and lift them up to God...I take the desires of my heart and future and lift the up to hands of the Potter....God just make me in to the man you want me to be....Jesus I am yours...

Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written:
"Be holy, because I am holy".
-1 Peter 1:13-16

speaking at Crusade (download link)

2008-10-27T07:25:00.004-04:00

So this past week I was privileged to speak at Campus Crusade for Christ here at FSU. It went so well. It was a big night for me as I discussed myself and the way I used to be before truly abandoning myself for the sake of following Christ.

You can download the podcast from that night of Crusade.... go to FSU Crusade's website and click on the link for leftovers and it will launch itunes and just download the last episode where you see my name.

You gotta love technology...always and forever...

what a weekend

2008-09-22T14:43:00.008-04:00

This past weekend was awesome...awesome because of the fellowship I had with a couple friends that I had not seen in a few years. I think its amazing how the body of Christ can come together at any time in any place and with obedience to Christ pick up right where the friendships left off.

From Athletes in Action's ultimate camp with these two friends way back in 2004 to countless great times in Winston these friendships were built. This weekend not about a football game for me but a weekend where God displayed his amazing faithfulness. He provided a reunion of people that I have been there with through some of my favorite moments in life.

Thank you Ashley and Mary for such a great weekend...

and as for the game Wake rolls over FSU for a third straight year in a row...........wow the tide has turned on FSU football.

conforming my will to His

2008-09-11T10:09:00.008-04:00

I feel like sometimes so of my posts talk about the same theme of God taking me apart to build me back up but I think thats what being a follower of Christ is all about.

Lately some of life has been really tough...

To be blunt and to the point I really miss Morgan. I miss not being a part of her life at all. Maybe I am in her thinking but its hard to think about big things in her life happening and I just not being a part of it. Whether is a huge blessing on hearing from God about what she is called to do or if there is a death in the family and its hard to process it or anything else it just hurts to know that Im not there to help or share in the experience. I ache to share that one day. I dream of a day where everything is restored between us and we are opened to His grace in a whole new way. I pray that God's will is done between us whatever that may be. My heart is sick over this hope of being with her and it has been for the past year and a half when I really started to pursue God in the area of relationships. Proverbs 13:12 describes best my heart:

'Hope deferred makes the heart sick,
but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life'

... No matter the season that God is taking me through I do not waver I know I have to press on and keep going in Christ. It is the only thing that I can do.

I desire nothing but to be faithful to where God has called me to go now. It does not make it easy that I am pushing through times of just trying to see the Lord's will especially when it comes to Morgan. I want to be a 'man' and say I just push right through all of this but right now I am so weak. Physically weak from working 70-80 hours a week...weak from crying out to God and seeing my plans continually fade(which they need to fade)...weak from not getting enough sleep...weak from the process of conforming my will to Gods...just weak.

Lord God, I ask you to meet me...help me understand how your strength is made perfect in weakness....amen

proud of my dad

2008-09-08T09:51:00.003-04:00

Sorry there has been a long time between posts. I hope that this infrequent blogging hasnt deterred people from checking the blog.

Anyways I wanted to share an article about my dad becoming the President of the Medical Society of Virginia. Its a huge honor for him and a testimony that you can gain a platform for Jesus through hard work and consistent service towards others.

Dr. Eppes to become President of the Medical Society of Virginia

living to impact

2008-08-24T14:49:00.003-04:00

The church I have been attending here has started a series called 'LiveToImpact.tv' with the website and everything. Today they talked about what it means to really impact this world with the commandment sharing your faith.

Jesus gives it to us clear to 'Go and preach to all nations..'...we must GO. Its a commandment and not just something we do from time to time. If there is no fear in this you are not human because this is what really develops your faith when you test it and try it.

I was convicted on several levels in the sermon including being focused in my pursuit of people and making relationships a priority here at FSU. I have found a few guys I can really start making that investment in and now its time to pursue and really seek to develop our communication about God.

Secondly, am I really making an effort to get to know our culture here in Tallahassee and really contextualize the gospel in to a way that people can understand it. I want this blog to be clear about my profession and conviction of living a life where its evident I am following Jesus but I want people to see it in a clear way. The pastor delivering the message talked of the character Angela form The Office and the point that she is very stuck up at times regarding her faith(not to mention her character is extremely hypocritical). But we cant be weird when it comes to Jesus. We gotta be real and talk of how evident and real He is in today's world. We have to live our relationships out loud and pray for the example we set as believers to scream salvation/redemption/forgiveness/grace/love/hope/ect....

'Years from now when we are telling our grandkids how we impacted this world will we tell them we spent hours on Facebook or that we have memorized hundreds of sports stats or that we watched great tv shows?' -Pastor Ross

...I pray that each of you reading this changes the way you have been doing things. We have to fight through this laziness and distraction that this world offers us and call upon the Spirit that doesnt make hesitant but bold.

For God did not give us a spirit of timidity but one of power, love, and self-discipline.
-2 Timothy 1:7

flat out...I Love Jesus

2008-08-09T22:20:00.006-04:00

I love Jesus so much....there is power that resides in Him....and its amazing to feel and know that He is soooo real...

this post sounds rambled and random probably but thats all I got tonight really....I love Him...He loves me....He went to death on a cross for me and that blows my freakin mind. He laid all of it down so that I might live. And you know what there is nothing that can separate me from that love...not one thing at all ever ever ever.

the words of Paul hit it perfectly....

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord
Romans 8:38-39

the gift of life

2008-07-31T22:16:00.003-04:00

"And the LORD God formed man out of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." -Genesis 2:7

my friends from my time in Vail, Erin and Kevin Daly, just had their first baby(Asher Kai Daly)...how amazing is our God to give us life...and now He has chosen this boy to have life...just blows my mind to know that He has given us so much just with the simple blessing of bringing us in to his world

Brandon Heath and Batman

2008-07-25T21:37:00.006-04:00

I was talking with my friend today Brandon Heath Knell about obedience. Its something we do, something we are, something we fight for. I told Brandon today that his music displays that to me. Its pretty awesome to know that along with his fame he still takes time for solid friendships and to encourage me and gives me a chance to let me know what God is revealing to Him in his walk.

We talked about a song that is one of my favs on the new album coming out on August 18 (go get it!!!! its called 'What If We') called 'When I'm Alone'. Its about needing Christ in all times but how we feel the need for Christ especially when we are alone and really trying to become the person God wants us to be. I know that in this time of living by myself here I need to make great decisions for Christ and I need to obey but at times I'm scared even though I know of the reward of faithfulness. I just ache to be with Christ....ache for everything to make sense.

I know this suffering of living alone and being in a new place is God working in me...For the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ. -2 Cor. 1:5 How crazy is that that the more we suffer the more we are comforted...its a call to continue despite pain, awkwardness, rejection...to press on. And I dont claim to be the most radical person for Christ in my sufferings but I am seeing that I need to embrace this suffering and push through it to obtain a reward greater than any other, for in Christ Jesus I am satisfied and this life is not lived in vain for He has washed me clean and declared me righteous.

I listened to a John Piper sermon on my drive down last week that talked about a huge problem with American Christians is that we do not embrace suffering for Christ as we should...as in we always look for a quick fix or other way out to ease the pain and not embrace the true suffering that Christ has intended for us to go through. I am at fault for that but now I am truly finding the ways to endure the cost of being a follower of Jesus. It was another reminder to me to continue to grow in Christ and embrace this life He has given me that I completely 100% do not deserve.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________

I saw the new Batman today with my friend Jason Boothe who I interned with down in Miami with the Dolphins. There were a few Christian themes that caught my eye such as Batman taking the blame even though He did nothing wrong and making himself a sacrifice for Gotham. Also there was a line that said “Sometimes people need to have their faith rewarded” but in this movie it was faith in a lie. It still strikes me as the world searching for a savior...and hello worrrrrld He exiiiiiists His name is Jeeeeeesus. I know its a movie and it would be crazy to just tie the end in to a great gospel presentation but I pray for the people that watch this and still search for a reason to live and a reason to believe something.

John 14:6
I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

in Tallahassee

2008-07-19T23:54:00.003-04:00

shewwww...after 2 days of driving I am here in Florida again safely...thank you all who prayed over my travel...its another feeling where I know I am outside whats comfortable to me...not to mention its so hot in my apartment! Just one AC unit that doesnt crank out much.

I met my boss today, Campo, and he showed me around Doak Campbell. Its really a great atmosphere and should be a great place to work facilities wise.

Last night I spent the night with Samkon Kaltho Gado. What an amazing friend God has blessed me with in Him. He is truly one of those people that I could go months without seeing but we see each other and we connect instantly in the most true form of fellowship. There arent many guys that I can say that about. Sam and I were privileged to meet one another in fellowship last year while both of us were with the Dolphins. We talked about this last night and will continue to do so forever that it was such an amazing time for us to have one another in South Florida along with the other guys in Tuff, Abraham, and Rod. We locked arms and went to battle together and really experienced a true piece of heaven together in fellowship.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

One plug I forgot to mention about my trip to Kansas City is my trip to IHOP. Not your regular ihop but the International House of Prayer....where they have LIVE praise and worship 24/7...seriously it was incredible to go. I went with a guy who used to be a Christian Counselor of mine named Ken Banks. In fact right now they are praising God in song and I am watching it live on the internet. For $10 a month you can have video streamed live to you of the worship whether its 1pm on Tuesday or 4am on Saturday they are praising God in song!!!....just amazing not to mention when I was there last week I saw a great friend Erica Grimaldi who was on my SPECIAL team at Ultimate Camp during the 2004 summer. Erica played basketball at Vanderbilt and was a baller! She has just returned from 10 months in Africa and is praying about what to do next. Lift her up please...

I will be trying out two new churches tomorrow so I must be getting some rest...

Jesus you are so good to me...I dont deserve this grace at all

I trust you Lord...

2008-07-18T01:08:00.005-04:00

tonight was all over the map.

God gave myself and my fellowship here in town a powerful last night of prayer and surrender as we prayed for nearly 40 minutes for God to be in our lives and requests in crazy spirit-filled ways. Our amazing God showed up in a tremendous way and I know we walked out of that house changed by the living God.

On the other side of town my step mom Cathy is struggling through a group intervention where her pride and lack of trust in Christ to carry the burden of her past weighs her down in to a deep dark place of pain and alcoholism....it hurts me so deep to see someone struggle in this but its a crystal clear example of what happens when we resist taking the yoke of Christ. So as of Sunday she will be moving to our family condo just 5 minutes away from our house now...God we cry out to you to break down the walls in her heart and help her cry out to you....

It hurts me to see my dad going through this but we both reach the same point at the end of tonight...God has a plan for this...He chose us...and He will not leave us...ever.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________

The past couple weeks have been tough and amazing at the same time. I go through anxieties and worrying but God just calms my heart and lets me know He is here and my portion...I reach deep and uncover sin thats been in the dark for a long time and God helps me to confess it and gives me an incredible and gracious response. God has been showing up in my life and I praise Him for it....Lord you are sooo real...so amazing. So many examples in the past few weeks: encouragement from countless people at the Littleton wedding including John Hardie, Kevin, Hoss and Emily, Ray Littleton, Cam Young...and then God having a sister in Christ overhear my conversation about God's love to someone on a flight last week and then after handing a couple verses from Romans 8 she looks at me in the face and tells me I am in God's favor.....brothers and sisters our God is REAL...

Cry out to Him tonight...shout it out if you have to but just get it out...let it all come forth to give Him glory because He so freakin deserves it.

Amazing King help me to praise you in every single season/day/moment of my life....you are worthy...you are Lord.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________

finally an encouragement from God's word by my brother John Michael Payette tonight:

Galatians 6:7-9
7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. 8 For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. 9 And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.

pictures

2008-07-15T21:17:00.010-04:00

Here are some pictures over the past few weeks of my life...they are in reverse order as far as the time sequence....enjoy

Fireworks to close the amazing night after the reception at the Littleton's wedding.

ooooh just a 3 hour dance party at the reception

The Littletons

Matt and Emily Hostetler at Kevin Littleton's wedding! such a great couple..they are living in Providence now...
The one and only Cam Young in Kansas City of all places!!!!

Mom and Clif driving their new boat!Cookin out at Marvin Key on July 4
Wynnie taking a nap with her pillow at the LAY Z Boy store before DMB

south florida...amelia...kansas city

2008-07-09T23:44:00.004-04:00

Current Location: Lenexa, Kansas

my time in South Florida was great....from the reunion with brothers and sisters in Fort Lauderdale to 4th of July at Marvin Key to crackin coconuts in the backyard to hangin out with Mom and Clif to time with the Burris' the time was great. I wish the time could have lasted longer but my life seems to be stuck in fast forward at the moment as time as I quickly approach the move to Tallahassee. Last night I was with my grandparents in Amelia, Virginia and couldnt have asked for a better time. Today was the second consecutive day I was up before sunrise as we drove to Richmond to fly to Kevin Littletons wedding in Kansas City this weekend.

Tonight a great friend from my 2006 missions/holiday trip to Germany with Athletes in Action, Cameron Young, happens to be in Kansas City for this week on business from China. He is one of my best friends and a true follower of Christ. Infact the Coldplay lyrics and screams from our car ride home still are echoing in my head....

Over the past week though God has rocked my world. He has helped me dive in to a depth with Him like never before. He continues to amaze me with how real He is in every part of my life and how He fights for me to be with Him and spend my every thought in Him. My mind is a part of me that is really being transformed at the moment. Jason Burris asked how to pray for me the other night and I just said three words: depth...for me to throw myself at Christ in a way to experience incredible depth and intimacy...focus...for me to stay fixed on Jesus(Heb 12:1) and really live for Him in all I do with purpose....and lastly fellowship...to really know that God has this planned for me in Tallahassee and seek the most intimate and real fellowship I can find there..fellowship that will stretch me, challenge me, make me unconfortable of where I am to strive for more of who God is.

I will be posting pics soon of my USA tour...

pressing on...

my sister

2008-06-28T00:33:00.005-04:00

try imagining a love so great that when it experiencing it you feel like you understand more of life and why God has created us the way He has....this is the type of love I feel for my sister.

through a conversation tonight between my family i realized so much more about my sister. the conversation had a large part to do with her and where she spends next year....but i really saw way beyond that. I saw her step up and be a woman....one of maturity...one of character...one of love...

my sister has been through so much. so much more than i could have ever have imagined her going through in this life especially when it comes to the complexity of our family situation but i really see her rise above all challenges that come her way with Christ. She is amazing in Him...she is growing in Him and banking on Him being the God He claims to be....that to me makes me weep because she gets it....she trusts Him.

As I was riding in the car tonight with her one the way to dinner with her and I just couldnt help but feel the depth of pain for us to go through parting again soon....it pains my heart and tears flow from my face as I write this and think of leaving this amazing woman that God has allowed to be my sister. Its hard to leave when you dont know the next time you will see her....it hurts my heart every time I think about it....every single time. I dont like it at all.

I am so proud of her....proud of who she is and who she is becoming. God has created an amazing woman in Sarah-Wynne Breckenridge Eppes. I know we are not promised any length of time together beyond this second but I just look forward to the next few days and I just praise our most glorious King tonight for creating something so incredibly beautiful in my sister...

I love you so much Wynnie....so freakin much...I am so so so soooo blessed to have you as my sister...

pressin on

2008-06-27T01:23:00.010-04:00

People have asked me lately, "Are you excited to start your job?"....honestly that question really takes some thought. I know this is where God has me to go in His will right now but there are still some 'what if ...' thoughts. Thoughts of what if I would be in a relationship right now right now or what if Athletes in Action would have accepted me in March. I know this is something I need to die to daily and pursue Christ on the road to Tallahassee but at times it doesnt come that easy.

My heart though is moving forward and growing in its acceptance of God's will and realizing there is so much opportunity to serve Him in the here and now. I used to tell other people this..'everyday is the most important day of your walk with Christ'...now that it something that I feel like I am really trying to apply. There have been many days of heartache....there are many days where I wish I was just raising support for Athletes in Action but I press on...but with this job in Tallahassee God has given me an amazing opportunity to seek and serve Him and so I press on in that. SO when people are asking me now if I am excited about my job I tell them I am more excited to impact people and build relationships there than the actual job because after all I am there to make a difference for Jesus Christ....to tell people of His amazing story and His love for each and every one of us through the cross. I am so looking forward to meeting coaches and administrators and student-athletes with every relationship forged with an opportunity available to give glory to God and share His truth. God's vision is much bigger than mine for my ministry to others in Tallahassee but I go with the faith that God will show up in huge ways through obedience and supplication to Him.

I am excited about this journey to Florida again because I will be taking it with many of you all. If you are checking and reading this blog then that for sure tells me you care about me in an extraordinary way. I thank all of you for reading even if its just 1,2, or 15 people. I pray that you all feel comfortable leaving comments and thoughts but even if you just read it means the world to me. Thanks for the incredible support each one of you gives me on a daily basis....

holla back

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me
- Philippians's 3:12

wedding day

2008-06-21T22:50:00.004-04:00

I went to Jarod's wedding today...a college roommate from bridgewater...it was a small and quaint wedding. I was blessed to see several people from college some of which I had not even seen since graduation I think. But the one thing it really did was it encouraged me to stay focused and continue to press on worship God where I am now in life.

Its something I struggle with at times. Going to weddings and becoming frustrated that I'm not there with the person I want to be there with. The prideful part of me says 'God what are you doing? I mean I have it more together than this dude or this girl'...but thats not it at all. God is refining me and teaching me so much that now thats the last thought in my head. Sure I want to be married someday and share my life with someone but right now I need to focus on loving Christ and letting Him be enough for me. One day I might be married and one day my body wouldnt be mine anymore but I still need to cling to Christ for everything. There are ways that my future spouse, if God wills that to happen, will never be able to provide and I need to grow with Him now and learn how to hold on to Him through all circumstances....

the verse that sums up my past few weeks and really what God is teaching me now is Psalm 73:26:

My flesh and my heart fail;
But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

that last word...forever...is Christ really my portion forever? well thats my aim and I seek Him knowing He can fulfill every need I will ever have...

God...thank you so much...please let me let you be enough....amen

dr. qvosac

2008-06-18T22:44:00.008-04:00

I visited my great friend Jon Small 2 weeks ago in Philly. I came to his class as an eastern european man and you can call me for full details but this picture may describe it a little better....this is Dr. Qvosac...

no title yet...

2008-06-14T23:48:00.000-04:00

I dont have a title yet for this blog as Im just trying to think of one. For the last few weeks I have just been inspired to blog from the suggestions of others and that this is a place where I find myself really able to express what is truly on my heart as I seek to bring God glory with this life he has given me....

I want to be real with this blog...I want people to see the true me and nothing less....