So I haven’t updated my blog in a while because I have been super busy and super tired. Yet, of course, out of that business comes a bunch of happenings, lessons, stories, and prayer requests. So here goes.

We went to the desert not too far from San Diego and had a men’s retreat, where just us men slept under the stars, played basketball, went swimming, and did other manly things. We talked about what it means to be Godly leaders and men who are pursuing the Lord. During that time one of our leaders (who have since left the trip) Doug talked about 1 Peter 3:15 which says: but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect. We were posed the question, “How many people have asked you lately?” I was super challenged by that. I know I want that type of community among my brothers in Christ, especially my bible study at Virginia Tech. A community that is so loving that people can’t help but see a difference and wonder about it. That seems so cliche and “christiany” to say, but I was reminded that it is possible to live like that. 

I met these 2 guys, Richard and Trevor, who are started an organization called Loving Orphans Global. I will blog about that separately, but my point is, whenever I am around them I experience the Holy Spirit, the love of God, and community in a new way. They are so joyful and so free because they are completely reliant on the Lord. Richard is always praising God for the smallest things (which is how it should be!). I really want to challenge my guys and my community to throw out all the stupid and discouraging jokes (Ephesians 4:29), to get rid of the time-wasting things in their lives (Hebrews 12:1-2), and to pursue Christ and only Christ (Philippians 3:7-11). Richard and Trevor are truly living that way.

Another thing that the Lord has really been putting on my heart is my passion for music and how I am using it. My roommate Ransom and I talked with our pastor, Dave Izor, from Horizon Coast Chapel (which has been a HUGE blessing in my life) and we were talking about what we want to do with our lives. He asked what we were studying and what we wanted to do with it. I responded with “communication…nothing” like I always do when people ask me that. Then he asked what I wanted to do and I responded “music and ministry” like I always do (because I have felt that call for a while now). Then he responded in a way nobody has before, he said “So why aren’t you pursuing them with everything?” I had never really thought about that. I always just kinda sat back and assumed that God would lead me into whatever he had planned and that I would follow with everything once I knew that plan (this is funny because this whole project I have been telling people about Acts 8:26-27 where the Spirit tells Philip to go out to a road in a desert place and Philip responds with immediate obedience. Could the Spirit be any less specific? Go to a road between Jerusalem and Gaza…it’s a desert). I guess I never really applied that to music. I always just thought about it in terms of a mission field, not a ministry. 

While Dave was speaking all of this to Ransom and I, I felt the Spirit moving in me. I felt the Lord moving me to pursue proclaiming the kingdom of God through music. Since feeling that the Lord has done crazy things to validate that feeling. I played music on the boardwalk and got to share the reason I was in San Diego with about 35 people. I talked with Trevor and Richard about potentially partnering with Loving Orphans Global and playing a show for them or donating a portion of our proceeds from CDs to them. I found out that Tyler already has a battle of the bands lined up for us at Virginia Tech. The Lord is really showing me how the hope of Christ, the proclamation of the kingdom of God, and music can all line up beautifully. I am going to stay in school and pursue my recording minor, but once I am out of school, I am going to pursue music in whatever that looks like. I am going to talk to Todd Cooper in a week or two and share all this with him. I am going to ask him if he thinks it could be plausible for me to follow Switchfoot around on tour if I raised my own support and paid for my own flights, food, etc. I am excited to see where the Lord leads. What doors he shuts, what doors he opens, and where he ends up placing me to serve Him and His kingdom best (Matthew 6:33).

Please be praying that my focus remains on God and His kingdom. Please be praying for energy as this project is spiritually, physically, emotionally, and mentally exhausting. Please be praying for the students that we will reach out to, that their hearts will be open and they will be thirsty for the Gospel. Please be praying that the Lord would reveal sin that hinders and entangles (Hebrews 12:1-3) and that he reveals the patterns of the world that I am falling into (Romans 12:1-2). 

Thanks! I know I am leaving so much out! Can’t wait to share these stories in person! 

We are having a Night of Reflection tonight and one of the things we were asked to do is come up with a list of things that inspire us and push us closer to Christ. Welcome to my brain:

1. Music (surprise, surprise). 
2. Encouragement (giving and receiving encouragement).    
3. Praying the scriptures for myself and others.     
4. Wrestling alone with God (being alone in the presence of God’s majesty).   
5. Having intimate, revealing, confessing conversations with brothers in Christ.     
6. Sharing the Gospel.   
7. Serving my brothers and sisters in Christ.     
8. Realizing brokenness. 
9. Watching the G.O.S.P.E.L. video by Humble Beast. 
10. Studying scripture that I am confused about.        

On the other hand, here is a list of what pulls me away from God:

1. TV.
2. Facebook.  
3. Stupid conversations about nothing.
4. Trying to impress people (often through music).
5. Being overly competitive. 

Please be praying that the Lord removes the things that draw me away from Him and convicts me of any others that I didn’t write down. Please also pray against my pride, fear of man, and selfishness as they are constant struggles that I am facing.