I want to serve God. How do I do it?

I have talked to so many new believers who are so stinkin ready to serve God they can hardly stand it, but a lot of them think that in order to fully serve God they must become a minister, or a bible scholar. This couldn't be further from the truth. Yes God calls people to become pastors and bible scholars, but God calls the majority to other things. God has placed a skill and a passion in everyone of us. I believe in order to serve God to the utmost we need to purse our passions and develop our skills for the purpose of Christ. God doesn't call us to do things that we can't do, he has placed inside of us all we need to fulfill His will for our lives. I know that many people don't really know what their passion or skill is, and to be honest if you don't know you can serve God just as much as someone who does. The bottom line when serving God is loving Him and loving others and we can all do this.

Our story isnt written by what we think, but what we do.

Tonight rob bell is speaking at hard rock live, and several people at C3 are going... I'm not one of them :( but anyways, i decided to check out his church and see if they had a podcast that i could listen to. Well they did and guess who was there guest speaker this past sunday. One of my favorite authors, Donald Miller. His message was about story telling, and what it takes to make a great story, and how each of us tells a story with our own lives. It was a great message, you can get the podcast if you go here and click on add podcast to itunes. Anyway, i had heard this analogy before and i loved it, but what hit me smack between they eyes was when he concluded with, "Your life story isn't written by what you think but what you do." That is so true, you can know the bible from front to back and you can pray like nobodies business, but what is your life story? What are you doing? Donald Miller also said, when writing a story you should first come up with a climatic moment and then figure out how to get your character there. For us as Christians our climatic moment is when God says to us, "Well done my good and faithful servant." What are we doing to get there? What am i doing to get there?

Blah!

So, i have been feeling a little under the weather lately. So much so that i didn't even feel like blogging this week. But now I'm feeling a lot better, but I'm still not 100%. But hopefully i will be by Sunday.

So i think i am going to start doing a quote of the day on my blog. And today's quote comes from my roommate Barry Oser who, after saying that he mispronounced the word thesaurus until he went to college at the age of 20, said, "Dude... I'm stupid man... I have the vocabulary of a freakin four year old..." It was funny at the time. I don't know if anyone else will think its funny... but i did. Oh, and he's a very smart dude by the way.

A lot of my friends from back in the GA have started blogging. and it is a really cool way for me to keep in touch with whats going on in their lives. One thing that i have learned since i have moved to orlando is that there are awesome people everywhere. I miss my friends in georgia, but i have made tons of new friends in orlando in the three weeks that i've lived here. Sometimes people are just so freakin nice. Its so amazing.

Barbaric Grace!

bar·bar·ic

1.	without civilizing influences; uncivilized; primitive: barbaric invaders.

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Today Pastor Byron launched a series called "Barbaric Grace". It truly opened my eyes to how barbaric Christ was and how Barbaric we should be as Christians. The whole idea of church and the system of church has become so civilized. I don't think that this way of doing church is from God. You don't have to agree with me but just hear me out. I think that a lot of churches have become so routine and boring. Get all dressed up on Sunday morning, sit in the same seat on the same row in the same pew, sing the same songs our parents use to sing, say hey to the same people we always say hey to, talk about events that we can have to attract lost people, but it always ends up being the same old shindig every year. All of this sounds very civilized and BORING! Of course at this type of church one does leave with a feeling of satisfaction, the type of satisfaction you get when you do something you really don't want to do but you know its best when you do it. Like going for a run. Well i think that church, rather than being one's run, should be one's meal before the run. It should prepare us for the battle that we fight during the week. I truly feel that C3 does that, but back to barbaric grace. It was barbaric for Christ to go to the cross, but it was through that barbaric act that His grace covers my sins. And because of this i feel that i owe my life to Christ, and to follow Christ's example I feel that if i were civilized about my faith and the way i live, then i would be disobeying God. I feel that God wants us to be barbarians when it comes to our church, our lives, and our worship and there is honestly no other way for Christians to be.

Hillsong United Conference.

So this weekend was amazing. Me, Darrell, and some friends from back in Georgia went to the first ever hillsong united conference in America and it was really amazing. I learned so much from it and i would love to share it with you, but honestly right now it is all a blur. I was given so much information and it hasn't quite had time to digest yet, but when it does i will let you know. :)
I am super excited about church tomorrow as we launch this new series called BARBARIC GRACE! Its going to be wild!!! I let you know more about that tomorrow.
And one more thing... is it weird that as i am writing this, everything I think of to write is in an Australian accent. If you don't know, hillsong united is from Australia, so everything i heard this weekend was said with an Australian accent.... Anyways, Have a great day!

Soulmates!

I read an article today in relevant magazine that totally opened my eyes. It was about this man and women between the ages of 70 and 80 and the love that radiated between them even after all those years.
They pulled into a parking spot out in front of a local coffee shop. The man opened his door first and very slowly went around to the back of the car and popped the trunk. From it he pulled a folded up wheel chair. He unfolded it and wheeled it around to the passenger side. After helping his beloved so gently into the chair he bent down and gave her the sweetest kiss, as if they were newlyweds.
This story was told from a young man sitting in the coffee shop observing all of this. As he sat there and observed this he couldn't help but think of all of the stories they must have. Stories of the wedding, the kids, going off to war, returning from war, the hard times they must've gone through, and the great moments they shared, and how there love for one another continued to grow with every passing day.
I know so many times in my life i think that if i don't pray each morning or read my bible each day then i am separated from God's love, but the bible says that nothing can separate us from the Father's love. at the love that is shown between the elderly man and his wife and how their love is still so fresh and true, and i know that kind of love only comes from one person, and that person is God. They individually received the love of God and then allowed that love to overflow onto one another.

three things will last forever- faith, hope, and love-
and the greatest of these is love.
1 Corinthians 13:13

Seriously GO READ SOME BOOKS!

But don't just go read any old book. Go read the bible. Without the bible we walk around in darkness. We are like sheep without a Sheppard. God speaks to us through his words. He gives us rules and truths not so that we will have something else to restrict us, but so that we can have life and life to the fullest. Satan comes to kill steal and destroy, but Jesus came that we can have abundant life. So turn off the computer for a little while and go read some books... of the bible.

Highlights from the weekend!

OK, If anyone gets a chance to go see a band called mute math, please go. It was one of the most energetic and tight concerts I've ever been to.

I got to hang out with some of my friends from back in Georgia , they came down for the mute math show, and we had such a good time. God has blessed me with so many amazing friends.

Church this morning was amazing. I really think everyone within an hour driving distance should have been there, and should be there every week. We had a guy named Eric come in and just have a conversation with Byron about homosexuality. Eric was a homosexual for about ten years and then one day he got saved and was extremely convicted about his lifestyle and God radically changed his life. Now he is married and has a kid and is living the life God has created him to live and is happier now than ever. God wants us to have life to the fullest, and when we are happy i believe that it brings Him great joy.

God hates sin because it hurts us.

We should stop focusing on what we shouldn't do and start focusing on pursuing Christ through reading His word and prayer, then holiness will follow.