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