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!