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.