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!
Myself, Dad, Mike, Teresa, and Jake in front of Wescott on gameday.
FSU vs Virginia Tech pregame
Downtown Atlanta backdrop over Bobby Dodd Stadium at Georgia Tech
FSU vs. Georgia Tech pregame (Nov. 1)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
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
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
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...
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.
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:
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
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.
