Snipe Hunting

OMG! Man, I am usually the one pulling the pranks on people but today was the day that I got got for sure. Some of my youth group kids have made it their goal to expose me to as much country crazy activities as possible. I went carpe catching a few weeks back and that was really funny and scary at the same time. I couldn't believe that these kids wanted me to grab these huge fish out of this muddy water and then play with it. So weird, haha but anyways, I had been hearing about snipe hunting for a while now and I was excited when Bryan, my prankster of a friend told me that we could go tonight. So, I get all dressed up in camo gear, grabed my sack0 and got pumped to see and catch these "rare" birds. Little do I know, that the plan is to bring Joe out to the woods, scare him by claiming that coyotes and weird animals were out near me, have me sit on the ground holding a stupid sack and leave me there. That's snipe hunting at its best! A prank to prove how gulible someone can truly be. I feel like such a fool and if it wasnt for my roomie Jered telling me about the real snipe hunting, I probally would have been gearing up for more hunting tommorrow. It was really funny though and I love my youth guys for doing it but I feel bad for them because they might have just started a war. I don't know, maybe I will have mercy on them....NOT! haha. Today was a fun day; myself and the other interns met with, Paul, the senior pastor at Metro and asked him different questions about Metro and ministry in general and it was so cool. I felt like I learned so much time in the short time that I had with him. One of the most important things that I felt like he said was to "make sure you know what you want in a church" I think this is great because going into any church position interview, you are trying to sell yourself but the church is selling themselves as well so as a canaditate you have to word your questions in a way that they have to be honest and real. Just things like this make me think so much about the future and the oppertunities that I'm going to have in the future. It's exciting stuff. After the meeting, I went to Buffalo wild Wings with Jordan and Connor (other interns) and it was so good. If your wondering what kind of sauce I get at Bdubs, I'm a honey barq and mild kind of guy. They never let me down. I also had the first practice for the youth worship band and that was great. We have some talented kids and with some practice, they will sound awesome in a couple of weeks. Well its crazy but tommorrow is Thursday already and I have tons of stuff to do, but I'm pumped to getting back to drumming after a week off. It will be great. I get to play with an awesome and hilarious group of people. Oh yeah, something really awesome happened on Monday. JERED AND JORDAN GOT ENGAGED! I was so excited when Jered told me about the ring a few weeks ago and then this weekend when he told me that monday was going to be the day. They are great together and God is at the head of their relationship which makes it amazing. Can't wait to go to their wedding. I will always remember the day they met...they almost shared a half baked potato and the rest was history! Congrats guys. Well thats all for now folks. Until next time...

In Christ's Name
Joe
Philippians 4:13

An eventful week to say the least.

Well, this week was amazing week! I spent most of the week in Vandalia for Kids bible kamp, which is the awesome day camp for kids grades pre k-6th that Metro puts on every year. I stayed in Vandalia Monday thru Thursday because not only was I an assistant teacher for the 5th and 6th grade class but I also had to coordinate a service project for the teens that came over from Edwardsville to help us and I had to lead a devotional for them in the evenings. It was a busy week but man did I have fun and I was truly blessed by the awesome kids that I got to work with and teach about god. Cool stuff. We worked in downtown Vandalia on some landscaping projects that I think the kids enjoyed and also greatly helped the people down at the Mainstreet Vandalia program. It was so cool. We talked about Legacies and ultimately what kind of legacy were we all going to leave. What kind of impact are you making on the world. That was my challenge to the Eville teens and I really hope that they think about and understand the potential and plan that god has for each of their lives because we all have the ability to leave out mark on the world in a positive way that is pleasing to god and the quicker that we figure out how to do that and do, the better off we will be. I don't know about you I dream about making the type of impact that Michael Jackson made on this world. Instead of music, could you imagine that some made that kind of lasting impact on the world through Jesus Christ. The kind of impact that would move 20000 people to attend your funeral. The kind of impact that would move millions upon millions of people to publicly and privately mourn your passing, all because you touched peoples lives through the love of Jesus. How cool would that be? What kind of Impact are you going to leave? How will they remember you? Such a great topic and I enjoyed talking about it will the great guys and girls. I also edited the highlight video for KBK and that was cool but also a bit annoying. I love video editing but for most of my life I have been spoiled and have been blessed with being able to edit with Final Cut Pro which is for Macs but the camera that I was using this week wasn't compatible with the IMac so I had to use movie maker and it isn't nearly as cool. Luckily it came out okay and was a big hit at the carnival. Despite being really busy and working pretty hard all week, KBK was great. The highlights were definitely hearing about the 8 teens that gave their lives to the Lord. Amanda was in my class and it was cool, seeing her receive Christ and really be interested in learning more abotu him. That's what makes it all worth it. There was also another kid named Caleb who is the 3rd grade brother of a high schoolers in my youth group. Caleb heard about God through his older brother and then decided to ask God into his heart at KBK. So cool. God definitely moved at KBK. I mean from kids getting saved, to parents being now dragged to church because their kids, it was a great week to be apart of the kingdom of God for sure. I was blessed and privilege to serve this week. Here are a few pics from the week.



Well after KBK I went home for my bday which was Saturday and that was fun. It was great to see my friends and just to be able to laugh with them and catch up a little bit was great. I have been home very little this summer so whenever I can get away for a few days in da brook, I take advantage of it for sure. We went to Mangolian Grill for dinner and man was it amazing! Here;s a pic so you can be jealous....


Well this summer has been flying by and I'm starting week 8 of the internship tomorrow. I'm excited to get back to the office and see the staff tomorrow. I also get to meet with the other interns and Paul, the senior pastor which should be real insightful. He's been in ministry for over 20 years n will have some great advice for a newb like me. Anyways, my goal is to blog everyday this week but I can't promise anything. I'm really gonna try. Well until next time...

In Christ's Name
Joe
"All can do all things through Christ who strengthens me"

What a week

Wow, this in a lot of ways was a pretty difficult week. It didn't start that way though. Sunday, I went to my friend Ben's wedding back home in the Brook and that was great. Ben and Lizzie have one of the most amazing love stories that I have ever heard. I'm so happy for them and excited to welcome Lizzie into my family cause Ben and his whole family is like a second family to me. If you want to hear the sotry, I will tell you cause it is pretty amazing. So I got back to the grind on Monday and found out that I get to be in charge of Fusion(youth group) this week and I was so excited about that. Heck, I still am. I'm delivering a message on peer pressure and also doing a hilarious game that I can't fully talk about on here just in case any fusion peeps are reading this. All I can say is that it involves happy meals. I will have pictures to share with you on Sunday. Tuesday was when the week kind of changed. I got a call from my mom saying that IKEA sent me a letter saying that I have to be there working 12 hours a week for the rest of the summer or I have to quit. Obviously since I live 300 miles away, this isn't possible so therefore I'm no longer working at IKEA.



This is a huge bummer for me because I was kind of given a raw deal with it and I really enjoyed the extra cash every month but hey sometimes life sucks but ultimately God is still in control and I have a lot of things to be thankful for. I've been kind of down about that since I found out and some other things have happened this week that has gotten me down but in the end God still reigns. In times like this, it gets hard for me at times to understnad the ways of God and to honestly not get angry at God. I am reminded of Dueteronomy 32:4 He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he. There are definitely going to be times in our lives were things will happen that can make us frustrated, mad, and a whole lot of other things but as this verse says, we serve a God who makes no mistakes and he is perfect. I have to take rest in that because right now, I'm thinking, "Crap, I'm not going to have anywhere to work for breaks and when I'm home on weekends" It's not a good feeling but God is so good and has given me a lot of things that I most people don't have. I'm learning so much with my internship with Metro and just getting to hang with kids and learn about what it means to do ministry has been great and I'm grateful for that. Though I have had so unfortunate things happen this week, I also get to lead youth group on Sunday and have done alot of work at Metro and we have another week of Kids Bible Kamp next week so I have a lot of thins to look forward to in the next few days. I'm excited to see what happens within the last month of my internship and to see what God does in my life. I know its going to be great. UFC 100 is tommorrow and I can't wait to watch the fights.



Well, I think thats all for now. Until next time...

Blessings,
Joe
Philippians 4:13

Long Time No Blog

Well it seems that Joe's lifesong hasn't been singing for quite some time now but I can ensure you that despite my lack of blog posts lately, my life has been pretty eventful. Since my last post, I have been home in Bolingbrook to work at Ikea and more importantly, in Florida attending an awesome christian summer camp called Big Stuf. Big Stuf was so much fun. First of all, its a week long camp on a beach in Panama City Beach, Florida. Now, honestly I could stop right there and you should be so jealous but it was so much more than just a week on the beach. Big Stuf is a week where in the mist of 1500 middle and high school students having a blast on in the ocean, participating in awesome worship and hearing some great messages about Jesus, God shows up and touches them in a real and powerful way. As I told guys who I had the privilege to room with at the beginning of the week, the fun and everything was destined to happen but I cared much more about what God was going to do in their lives over the course of the week and when it was all said and done, I think a lot these teens experienced God at Big Stuf and that's what its all about. One of the greatest things about Florida was being in the auditorium during worship time and seeing 1500 students going crazy for God. Cool stuff.
Another highlight of the trip for was watching the Nickelodeon classic, "Good Burger" Good Burger is a pretty retarded movie but I laugh my head off the entire time. Just picture this, I weird looking black guy gets out of bed in the morning with his fast food restaurant uniform on and goes to take a shower fully clothed in a super funny rub a dubb dubb way. Pure comedic genius if you ask me. You shoud watch it if you get a chance. It will rock your world! This week is week 5 of my internship and it has been going great. I have been hanging out with students, getting to know the staff and other interns at Metro and ultimately just being blessed with a lot of knowledge and ministry experience that is going to help me later on in life. I'm excited to get the worship team for youth rolling pretty soon and I turn 20 in a few weeks so that's exciting. Well I have dishes to do and dinner to eat before I maybe call it a night so that's all for now. Until next time.

In Christs Name,
Joe
Philippians 4:13

Long day...Long week

So it's mid-week and let me tell you, I am exhausted from the hectic schedule that KBK has brought to my life. KBK stands for Kids bible kamp and is something that Metro does every year. We have about 300 kids from pre K all the way to 6th grade come out for 3 hours in the morning and have a blast with them. Though playing games and doing other fun things is great, the true purpose of KBK is to bring some kids to know Jesus in a real way. I was asked to teach a few weeks ago and originally I was suppose to be with the 3rd graders then the first week of Kamp which was Monday, I was switched to 6th grade. This was awesome because the 6th graders get to go bowling on one of the days instead of sweating it out in the heat all day. Well, sadly one of the pre K teachers backed out after Monday so guess where I am now? Yep, pre K is where I have been for the past two days and its been really cool in a lot of ways. One, I feel like I know a lot more about pre K kids that i didn't knowing coming into this. You never know, this could come in handy when my kids are at this precious age. Also, to see a little kid seriously and truly worship God or understand things about the bible and everything is something that will really bless you. It definitely has blessed me. Tommorrow is the big water fight and since it is going to be 97 degrees out, I plan on getting soaked so that maybe I can survive the day without a heat stroke. haha. KBK is in the mornings and in the afternoons I have been going to hang out with my youth group buddies. Yesterday we played football and that was really fun. It's amazing how much they make me laugh. I love it. Earlier today I went to watch some of the guys play in a school summer basketball game. That was great because I miss high school sports a lot and its just cool to see them competing and since a bunch of them play football and basketball, I am pumped for the fall to cheer for them. It's gonna be sweet! God is going to do some amazing things through the relationships that I'm going to form this summer with these students and even during the school year. I'm so blessed to be in the situation I am right now. Despite the lack of sleep that I face during the week, there is nowhere I would rather be spending my summer than Metro. What an awesome church just filled with awesome people. The volunteers at KBK have been amazing and love the kids so much that some of the kids drag their parents to church. Funny how God works sometimes isn't it? Well, despite the great time that I am having right now, I can't forget about my roots so I will be traveling to Bolingbrook tomorrow night to work at IKEA for the weekend and to hang out with my dad for father's day so I bascially have the next 4 days packed with mostly fun activities(minus IKEA, whoops). That's probably will be where my next blog post comes from so until next time. Love you all.

In Christ's Name
Joe Canady
Philippians 4:13

My life...the process

So, its been a week and I haven't posted a single thing on here but I'm in some serious need of reflection and to just write out the things that have been happening in my life. One word to describe this week would definitely be difficult. I think I missed out on a pretty significant opportunity that I'm not sure that I will ever get again and that's real scary. That fact and my thought that I sometimes am not the man that God has called me to be to be a little bit down on myself this week...okay not a little, a lot. Now don't get me wrong, a lot of awesome things happened this week that were so cool but there were times this week where I looked around and thought,"Man, I want to be so much more than what I am now," I don't know, I guess its partly that I've been surrounded by so many great people these past few weeks that it has caused me to question my greatness. In a lot of ways this has helped me this week because it brought to attention some things that I need to improve on. Some pretty urgent things that I'm going to start this week will be to improve my life is to hit the gym hard and to start training for my half-marathon. Now you might be thinking that a half-marathon for an 240 pound out of shape dude might be crazy to pull of in 12 weeks but I want this and I'm going to it. I'm actually pretty excited about it. Ask me how I'm feeling at the end of this week. Now if I'm not near death, that means that I'm not working hard enough so kick my butt! Another thing I'm working on is giving more and more time daily to just Gods' word. It's so tough especially when my schedule is so busy, like this week when I have to be up at 5:45am everyday! Crazy I know but ultimately its a decision that I have to put as a priority. My life is going to being to change dramatically if I start taking these improvements seriously st me and trust me, I plan on it. Another thing that i will be doing is blogging every day. Most days I experience some pretty neat stuff. Like today for example, today I went "hoggin: with some kids from youth group. I guess its best describe as going into a creek with a net or your bare hands and catching these huge fish. Oh yeah and when its all said and done, you will be covered with mud. Now what you have to understand is that I'm a pretty big time suburban/city boy and hanging out with fish is just not something that I did growing up. I was very scared of the fish and wanted no part of holding them. ad I know but hey I'm proud of myself for getting into to the mud water at all so yeah. Another thing that happened today was that I gave the message for youth tonight and that was cool. I talked about storms and how God can use difficult situations and trying times for his glory. I love the story behind the song "Praise you in this Storm" by Casting Crowns and I used it in my message today. It's about a courage little girl named Erin Browning who used her battle with cancer to touch so many lives. I encourage you to read it. you can find it here Well as this blog is titled. My life is definitely a work in progress but its a process that I know is slowly but surely turning into something great and into something that will be used for God's glory in some incredible ways. Well until next time, Love you all

In Christ's Name
Joe
Philippians 4:13

TGIS-Thank Goodness it's Sunday!

Well today was Sunday and as you continue to read my blogs, you will figure out that Sundays are my favorite days of any given week. I mean, who wouldn't love getting up at the crack of dawn to play drums in a praise band, take an afternoon nap (I almost never get to do that) and then go hang out with some of the funniest and most awesome junior high and senior high kids ever! Besides the getting up extra early part, Sundays are usually awesome in the world of Joe and this Sunday was no different. Church was really great. Russ, a guess speaker from St. Louis talked about starting over and man did he do a great job. In my life, there are things that I would love to delete and start over again and one of the cool things about God is the fact he gives us as Christians the opportunity to do that in our lives. No matter what we do, God will love us and forgive us for any of the transgressions that we have made. Now the consequences will still be there but if we confess our sins and ask for forgiveness, God washes us clean and we start over. That's so cool. After church I went home and hung out house for a while and then I went to youth group. Youth group was so much fun because I hadn't been there in a few weeks and I missed the kids for sure. They are hilarious! Bryan talked about storms and the fact that it's okay to ask the "Why me?" questions to God and to be mad at God when life throws us for some loops but something he said really spoke to me and its so true. He said that bad things happen to good and bad people. There have been times in my life, where people have lost loved ones or just went through a heavy storm in their lives and I just think "Man, how could these people have to go through this when they have been so faithful to you God?" It's one of those cases where I don't understand the ways of God and what he's doing in my life and the lives of others all the time but one thing I do know is that most storms that people experience make them better and some way and God uses the tough times for his glory and that in the end makes it all worth it. I think the words that Bryan said will help me whenever I go through my next storm and I'm grateful for that. After youth group we all went to Vandalia lake to play some beach volleyball. Myself and the kids had a blast and if you are wondering who won, you shouldn't be because you should just know that my team always wins no matter what. That's just the way it is. Well it's time to start a new week and I'm interested to see what God has in store for me this week and the doors that he might open and maybe even close. It should be good. Well until next time, love you all. GO LAKERS!

Week 1...check,

So today was Saturday and for me that signals the end of the week. For Metro and probably a few other people Sunday is the end of the week. Weird I know ha ha but anyways, this week has been awesome. The first week on a new job is always a bit well new, and mysterious but with all the awesome great people I have met this week and the great opportunities that have been put in front of me, I know that the next 9 weeks are going to be incredible. Today was a very relaxing day for me. I didn't do much besides go to church tonight but I did see the cutest thing on TV earlier. I love sports and will probably watch any sport that's on TV even if it is girls basketball. The WNBA made its 2009 debut today and at the end of the LA Sparks and Shock game, Lisa Leslie was being interviewed and her 4 year old daughter Lauren took the microphone and started to sing "Jesus Loves Me." Let me tell you, it was the most precious thing I have seen all week. I can't wait to have kids to do awesome stuff like that. In other news today, I made my Metro Edwardsville stage debut. I only moved a stool on and off the stage but still, it was a debut none the less. I also got to watch the last few at bats of the cubs game. All I can say that losing on a bad throw to home plate probably is the worst possible way to lose a baseball game but I didn't expect anything less from the Cubbies. Too bad for them. Well, its almost midnight and I should be heading to bed now because I have to be up at 6am tomorrow for church. Suffering for the Lord at its best. I have a full day in front of me and hopefully I have some great blog material to share with you. Well until next time, love you all.

In Christ's Name
Joe
Philippians 4:13

You give love a Bad Name!

So yesterday was a pretty tiring day, which explains why I didn't post yesterday. One of the surprises of the day was the fact that worship band got canceled. Though I love playing drums in the band, this was a welcomed blessing for me because I got to go to Crave. Crave is the college aged ministry at Metro that I never get to go to because of band practice...sigh, but yesterday was different. I got to go hang out with a lot Cougars! If you don't know what that means, just think about Southern Illinois University Edwardsville's mascot, then it should make since. Hint: mascot is a cougar. ha ha. Okay but anyways with the games, worship and small group time, I had a great time just getting to find out what God is doing in the lives of my peers and that's always cool. I met a new christian who had gotten saved during the recent 30 days to live series and man was that cool. A lot of the people at Metro made some pretty serious changes in their lives because of this series and one of the coolest changes was seeing people set across the line of faith and this guy was one of those people. God is going to do some great things at Metro and with Crave because of people like Connor and Josh (Crave volunteers), people who just desire to see lives changed and are willing to put in major work to make it happen. I can't wait to see what God does. It surely will be awesome! Well today is my day off and I'm enjoying it. Especially since the Lakers got off to a great start in the finals last night. hopefully you all will be seeing a picture of myself in my Lakers NBA 2009 World Champions shirt and hat on here real soon! For some reason, my musical preferences are really odd, in the sense that they are all over the place and one of my favorite songs in Bon Jovi's "You give love a bad name." Maybe its the big 80's hair from the videos of something but I really love it. Can't lie. Well I'm to go look at the music video on you tube now...just kidding...maybe not but either way, until next time. Love you all.

In Christs Name
Joe
Philippians 4:13



Currently Listening to-Unbreakable by Fireflight



Currently reading-7 Practices of Effective Ministry by Andy Stanley, reggie Joiner and Lane Jones

Just another maniac Wednesday

Some things I learned today

-Always check the weather channel before you get dressed in the morning-Rain, 60 degree weather and shorts do not mix. Speaking from experience here.
-Star wars is entertaining.
-Shaq wants Kobe to win a fourth ring.
-Conan O'Brien is hilarious!

Okay so the truth is I learned more things that what I just said today but these were some of the funny things that stood out of today. Today was a pretty productive day as far as my internship went. I met with Bryan, the youth pastor at the secondary branch at Metro and the main person that I will be working with when it comes to youth group things. We talked about a host of things youth related that I'm going to be doing and I learned a lot of helpful things that is going to be beneficial for me when I work through all of the planning and prep for a lot of my projects that I will be doing in the coming weeks. I also ate ate Ponderosa Steakhouse for the first time. They have great food and I know the owner. Bruce you are awesome! Todd and I talked at length about some great ministry and leadership things that I know will help this summer and later on in my future life of ministry. I'm glad to have some in my life like Todd to daily drop some knowledge on me. It's awesome. After a long day at the office, it was so great to watch Star Wars:Episode 4- A New Hope with one of my friends. I have never been a Star Wars fan at all and had never seen a movie until today. I really think after its all set and done that I can become a believer in the FORCE! Hans Solo is awesome and definitely my favorite character right now. "Will someone get this walking carpet away from me?"-Princess Laya. SOOOOO FUNNNYYYY. Anyways I'm excited to start a new day tomorrow and to play drums at praise band practice. Oh yeah and what kind of Lakers fan would I be if I didn't mention that game 1 of the NBA FINALS! is tomorrow. Kobe will not be denied! It's going to be a great Thursday. Well, until next time. Love you all.

In Christ's name
Joe
Philippians 4:13

Legacy

So, one of the things that I'm doing this summer is developing three 30 minute devotionals for the middle school and high school students that are helping out with the VBS at the church . As soon as Todd told me about this last week, I almost immediately wanted to talk about Legacy. We just wrapped a series called 30 days to Live at Metro and I thought that it would be an awesome follow-up to that series and also its something that I feel that teens can benefit from learning about now so that when they are older, they can be satisfied with their Legacies. According to websters, Legacy means something transmitted by or received from an ancestor or predecessor or from the past ex. the legacy of the ancient philosophers That's a little too formal for me so I'm going to give my opinion of what a Legacy is. When I think of a Legacy, I think of what a person, place or thing is remembered for. This perception of the object is usually brought to light when someone, retires from a job, after years in a certain sphere of influence or most frequently when someone dies. Obituaries are apart of a persons legacy. The things in an obituary will be things that people will remember about that person. Who their family was, where they work, characteristics and personality traits, accomplishments. All these things are apart of a Legacy. Now, what you do and who you are while you are living and breathing is what determines what your legacy is. If you lied, cheated and stole all your life, then that's what you will be remembered for. If you were an amazing basketball player and everyone loved you because of it (Michael Jordan), then that's what you will be remembered for. As I was writing out some ideas as far as where to take these teachings on legacy and what it's going to look like when I'm finished, I began to think. What is my Legacy? What are people going to say about me when I die and they are at my funeral reflecting about my life. One thing I know for sure is that most of my friends will definitely talk about my obnoxious laugh and my numerous embarrassing comments and incidents but I want my life to count for so much more. I know that so far in my life, I have accomplished a lot of great things such as serving at my church, attending college and living a life that is pleasing to God (most of the time) but I want to change the world. Probably in ways that I don't even know yet. I think about the Legacy of Christ and what he is remembered for. One of the main things that I think about is the fact that he served others. Mark 10:45 says For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many There are many insistences that you can point in the bible that show that Christ served and did it gladly. He washed the disciples feet, feed the five thousand and so many other things. Christ's Legacy is so much more than just serves others but its a big part of it and something that I truly want to be remembered for. Heck, I want my Legacy to look a lot like Christ's its all when its all said and done but don't we all? I'm not satisfied with my legacy how it is because I know there is still work to do for the kingdom of GodI know that with God's help, I know that my life is going to count for something great when I leave this earth n go to be with the Lord. So I will leave you with this? What is your Legacy? Are you Happy with it? What are you going to do to change it. I love the song Legacy by Nicole Nordeman so here are the lyrics of the chorus for you to reflect on. Until next time.

I want to leave a legacy
How will they remember me?
Did I choose to love? Did I point to You enough
To make a mark on things?
I want to leave an offering
A child of mercy and grace who
blessed your name unapologetically
And leave that kind of legacy

In Christs Name,
Joe
Philippians 4:13


Currently Listening to Addison Road by Addison Road.


Currently Reading Seven Practices to Effective Ministry by Andy Stanley, Lane Jones and Reggie Joiner.

Your Will

WHOA, what a day. Day one of any job or new position can be pretty overwhelming in many ways and let me tell you, my first day as an intern was no different. I'm serving as a youth ministry intern at Metro and I couldn't be more happy and excited about it. Metro Community Church was a much needed blessing that came into my life last year. I go to school in Greenville, IL and I really don't particularly enjoy going to any of the churches in Greenville. Church to me has always been passionate, people oriented and overall just a place where I can feel at home and I hadn't had that since I left home for college...until Metro. Totally a God thing because I wasn't actively searching for a church to really get plugged into because I served at a church in town but it didn't feel right. This is where Rick comes in. Rick sends out this email about plugging in at a local church with their praise team. Music is my first love and I had been desperately trying to play drums in a worship band somewhere. It's what I've done all my life and here was my opportunity. So along with playing drums every week, I started to get plugged in with the youth(another love and passion of mine) as well and from that came the opportunity to serve the church as an intern. My hope and desire is to in the future to help to bring the generation back to the Lord and just to invest my life into the lives of teens who so desperately need God to come and rock their worlds. With that being said, I have a lot of things to learn when it comes to ministry and Metro is going to be a great place where I can learn from some great people who have tons of ministry. So pumped for that. So now that you know how this internship came about and why I'm doing it, lets go through day one. Today was a lot of administrative and orientation stuff that I also got to just into some of my projects which is going to be really cool to see what they look like when I'm finished. With the worship team that I'm going to develop, the service project that I'm planning and so many other things that I have on my plate, I know that God is going to do some amazing things and he is going to use me in some awesome ways. Let me tell you, I can't wait! Mondays for me mean small group and today was my first time being there in a while and after the long day at the church, it was a great time to learn some things about God but also to have fun with my friends in my group. I laughed so much today in that group about life and all the things that come with it. So awesome. Tonight we talked about God's will and how we can better live our lives with God's will being the top priority in our decision-making and thought processes. I struggle sometimes with whole-heartedly trusting God's will for my life. Proverbs 3:5-6 says to 5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways acknowledge him,and he will make your paths straight. Now I have heard this a thousand times but I struggle with it at times because sometimes God tells me some crazy things that I don't understand. the bible says that we will not understand all of Gods ways and I know that but its still hard sometimes to not lean on my own understanding when its so easy to do so. I'm working on it and some things are much easier than others but it was great to be reminded that God is in control and he knows what he's doing. I know that this intership and this summer is definitely apart of God's will, purpose and plan for my life and that makes me even more excited to do ministry and to really pour my life into my youth group kids and also into all the other things that I will be doing. This blog is a testament to me dedicating more time to focus on living out God's will for my life because if I didn't have this blog, I would be facebooking, twittering or doing something else that has no bearings on the kingdom of God. With all the problems and issues in the world today, there is no time to waste on things that bear no fruit for me. So I challenge you to seek and discover God's will for your life and do everything you can to live it out in your day to day life. Also ask yourself what things in my life can I add or delete that will better help me to live out God's will for my life. It takes sacrifice, boldness, courage and you saying "God, I want to be your hands and feet to this world." It will be hard and difficult at times, but you can do it. Remember Philippians 4:13. It's an everyday journey but my goal is to live my life according to God's will more and more everyday and with God's help I will totally get there. Sorry about the long posts and the introductory stuff but at times, I just can't stop typing. I will get better. Promise. God is Good, all the time! Love you guys. Until next time.

In Christ's Name
Joe
Philippians 4:13

Expectations

Wow, so it's almost midnight and I start the first day of my internship tommorrow. I'm excited for this for so many reasons but before I share more about that, let me tell you why I've started this blog. School got out about a week and a half ago and instead of heading home, I went to Georgia for memorial day weekend. The main reason why I was there was to go to the huge barbeque that some of my cousins planned for my entire extented family. Let me tell you, it was unbelieveable. Both of my parents were born and raised in Macon, Georgia but moved to Chicago when they graduated high school so to put it plainly, my roots definitely reside in the peach state. When I was younger I spent most holidays in Georgia with my family but the combination of me growing up, my parents getting divorced and my grandfather passing away changed that quite dramatically. I'm at the point now where I usually don't visit GA unless there is a death or wedding. This barbeque really touched me in ways that I never expected it would. I was really excited to go because to be quite honest, with my intership and everything that comes with the fall semester at college, there is no way, I was going to get to go to Georgia until at least Thanksgiving and thats far from a guarentee. One of the main reasons why my cousin Wayne said that he got this whole BBQ together was because when one of my aunts died earlier in the year, he just got sick of only seeing all his family together when someone passed away. This hit me pretty hard, because I really don't see my family unless something like a death or wedding happens. Unacceptable. I can think of all the things that I have done over the years instead of visiting my family and most of the fun and cool things that I put before visiting and talking to matter family matter very little right now. Another thing that I took away from the BBQ and the trip as a whole is the fact that things that are important in my life and the way that I spend my time need to change a little bit. I think about things that I do on a regular basis like watch UFC, watch specific t.v. shows, facebook and twitter, play video games and ultimately all of these things are doing nothing to build and further the kingdom of God so why am I wasting my time? Yep, can't think of a good enough answer to keep doing all these things as much as I do so I'm cutting them out. Now this doesn't mean that I'm cutting these things out completely because I still love a good UFC fight but I won't be disappointed if I miss it anymore and I will periodically check my facebook and twitter but it won't be something I do everyday. I got bigger and better things to do. Blogging is one of the things that I feel is going to help me grow as a man of God and just as a person in general. It's going to give me an oppertunity to reflect on my day and to just share what God is speaking to me and what he wants me to share with the world. My desire is to have this blog be an inspiration to others and to be a way for people to get a look into my awesome life(get excited!). This summer is going to be great. I'm interning at Metro Community Church mainly working with the youth. I'm expecting God to move in my life like never before. A quote that my friend Nina told me comes to mind when I think of expectancy and its this, "The spirit of expectancy is the breeding place for miracles." Now granted, I don't really have too many miracles that I see right now in my life that I need to happen...well, maybe one but I won't go there this blog, lol, I know that I desire to see miracles like peoples financial needs being met without explanation or a crazy healing so therefore when these needs come up, I will believe expectanctly that they will be met but in the meantime, I'm believing that God is going to use me in some amazing ways and I am believing that I'm going to form some amazing life-lasting friendships this summer. I know that God is going to do some great stuff this summer and I'm pumped to experience whatever he has for me. Pray for me as I go through this journey because I know that its not all going to be easy some tasks are going to be overwhelming but Philipians 4:13 says "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." and I'm going to hold on to that this summer and in my life in general and I know the Lord will see me through. Well I'm getting tired and I still have to talk to the "big man upstairs"(God). In the coming blogs I will talk more about my passions, hopes, dreams and everything else that defines me. My life has been a pretty great journey in the 19 years that its been running and I know its only going to get better. If you choose to read this blog regularly, all I can say is to enjoy the ride...
In Christs Name
Joe
Philipians 4:13