Youth convention. (1 day before)

I am very excited about the fact that I with some of the youth from RETRO Youth Ministries at our church are attending Youth Convention this year in Austin, Tx. It has been a few years since I have attended one and am very stoked now as a youth pastor from our church to be able to take a group of them with me! I know that they are truly excited as well to leave out of town away from mom and dad or guardians, but most importantly I am praying for their spiritual well being. I am praying that God will and am trusting that God will do something great in their lives so that when they are to come back, they could be a difference and put God first in their lives.

For anyone from RETRO reading this, I hope that you have a great time and see that we can really have some great times together as part of our youth group. We are not exclusive and neither should our love for God be! I love you all and pray that one day we will be ale to sit back and at about how awesome youth convention was!

Blogger ipad update excited post!

I am most delighted to say that today marks an epic landmark in my little world of the all new blogger application via the ipad becoming available. So what exactly does that mean, we'll that I am more able to easily post a post when something comes to mind, while keeping my focus off my blog in tact.

2 Moments in 2 Days I Won't Forget.

DAY #1

I'll start by saying that I have a horrible memory and that being said I hardly remember non-memorable events in my life. So what happened yesterday, Friday October 12th and today the 13th, of 2012 will definitely be something to remember. 

          So this was a Friday night that I was not in charge of running anything as far as youth service is concerned and it felt really good. I was leaving my home about 1 hour before service right after getting out of work and recapping the sermon that my friend Daniel was going to give this Friday night. I was on the way to a notorious freeway in Houston, TX named Interstate 45 or I-45 going south. The time was about 6:30pm and I was heading dreadfully to this freeway expecting traffic as always from it and being amped at the same time to get to service! I typically drive somewhat fast and headed down the freeway at about 70mph more or less and then a hard bump I ran over! BAM! 

          This bump was intense and I felt pretty bad and even had that face like, "Oooh that was a rought hit" on. The only thing was that I thought it was a small pot hole or something and pretty much hoped that it didn't affect my tires much; giving the fact that my tires were in horrible condition knowingly. Five minutes later, my tire was completely flat and I barely noticed or felt it since I was listening to music pretty loud on the way. 

          LONG STORY SHORT....I immediately strive to pull over from the speeding lane while my car is practically galloping. I did not have a good spare tire at all, and a matter of fact it was a blown out one with a bent rim. I had no jack or tools in my trunk. I pulled over settling for a horrible position at an exit where the emergency lane was very thin and hardly enough space for my car. No money to pay for a tow truck. After a phone call I come to find out my AAA membership is expired. Youth service was in about 20 minutes. 

LONG STORY EVEN SHORTER.

          So what ended up happening was that I had a friend who called me and actually mocked my God and questioned my situation and I had to have my dad actually come to my rescue ultimately. I spent the next 4 hours with my father searching for open tire shops on this Friday night, which was a given that none would be open but we went out on a limb. So, we didn't find anything at all and had to leave my car in a hotel's parking lot, with permission of course. 

Yes that was it....my hectic and friday full of mayhem!

DAY #2

SATURDAY CONSISTED OF placing orders of a BBQ sale that our church had of 17 plates all at work or my job. I placed the order around 9:30am and  it was noted. Long story extremely short, the guys with the plates arrived around 1:50PM which was way after the desired time. You see at my job, lunch is a very special gathering and peaople like to have it on time especially. People that had ordered their plates were pressuring me AND I HAD TO KEEP MY INTEGRITY. 

          I made plenty of calls to the youth at the church to see what was taking so long and as expected, many different stories. The plates finally had arrived and were delivered and people were happy. 

         WHAT made things so much more awesome, was my best friend Daniel. 

My best friend Daniel had coordinated getting my spare torn apart tire and bent rim, to be repaired and practically fixed like new. He got the tire and delivered my 17 plates all with an awesome smile and a great attitude and was ready to actually hear me out. I am very thankful for my friend Daniel and his efforts towards me as a friend as well. He brought my day to be so much better and it all paid off. 

THAT is all.

Life is a Battlefield

     My heart has become heavy after contemplating the song "Open Letter" from KB. The song is such an awesome perspective that also inspired my design on the left because the song reminds me that daily we are tempted and have battles both carnal and spiritual.

     The song spoke to me in many ways and the simple fact "Life is a Battlefield" everyone can agree with because daily we carry our struggles, secrets, desires, thoughts, and ultimately our sin. This analogy of when a dog vomits and how piteous it is when it returns back to it and eats it, reminds me of all of us (not that we are dogs), but as dogs, we sometimes return to that same sin that God died for. Everyday we are to carry our cross and battle daily the temptations that come at us.

1 Corinthians 9:25
Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.

     Maybe at the moment of reading this, you find yourself not simply reading this but also relating to what I am blogging about, to where you find yourself at times with your back against the wall. We all, including myself are very good at putting on different faces that hide our emotional, physical, or our soul's hurt or longing for something more than average living...well, I have good news for you! Jesus loves you and you are never too far in to sin for the precious grace, mercy, and love that God has towards all of us that he will not forgive and forget you or your sins. God has a plan for you brother and sister, and I say this in a spirit of love. God has a plan: (Jeremiah 29:11)

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Random Thoughts.

I have had many things on my mind, here's 3:





1. The naturalism of sin is so high and typical in this society and generation that what is right and just, this society will react to as un-ordinary. I have many times been surprised at how horrific this is first hand through various occasions. I myself am a sinner and really far from perfect...to where it shouldn't even be considered, but I strive for holiness and repent. We're all sinners. (Romans 3:23)

here's the good news from Romans 5:





2. Modesty is not old fashioned. I've witnessed many women that have conformed to the way the have been objectified in media as sex tools. Therefore they give in to appearance being the ultimate goal and do not allow a man to really try to discover the inner beauty. As harsh as that may actually sound, its true and I myself have been guilty of lust as every man has to.








3. After reading Romans 5 and almost being floored at how that chapter encapsulates the gospel of Jesus, I was lead to Ephesians 2 where I was reminded of un-deserved grace. Wow! Everytime I think of it, I am reminded on what a merciful God we serve.

Been a long time!

     Without looking at the actual date of my last entry, I already know that it has simply been too long since I blogged. I have had many events, both BIG and small that I told myself in my head, "I need to blog about this," but didn't. Well, I am back on it and want to get into the habit. 

     I unfortunately have had some of the keys of my laptop snatched off as well by my little brother and cannot flow when trying to type. I have an Asus G51VX and it really is not portable but I have been having it up and down and all around. So, I do really need to upgrade ASAP, and I'm thinking Apple.

     Therefore I am back to avenge the urge of being able to blog consistently, lets hope! Here.....We.....Go.