Treasuring Christ

Lord God, my prayer is that above all else I would treasure You and You alone!

If I find...

Arrived home safely this evening. I appreciate your prayers. It was a splendid time with my mom. We had several worthwhile conversations for which I am tremendously grateful.

Something to contemplate:

If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world. CS Lewis

Christmas Day

The long awaited day is finally here.  We are able to celebrate the birth of our Savior, our Emmanuel, our God with us.

Until this year, I never really thought much of the advent season.  This seems ridiculous to me now because it is so important.  I knew that the reason for Christmas was to give Christ laud for being God incarnate.  However, I forgot about how we must eagerly await His second advent, or coming.

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NC

I've arrived in North Carolina safely. It's nice to spend some time with my mom, grandparents and aunt and uncle. It's just nice to have a few days off work.

The trip was extremely uneventful (which is a positive thing). It was pretty much stress free. I woke up at 5:30 this morning and left Etown by 6am. I arrived here in Greenville, NC at about 1:30 or so.

Please pray for:

1. Enjoyable, relaxing and encouraging time with my mom

2. Extended time in the Word

3.  God to use me to serve those with whom I come in contact

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Praise!

Praise God! Through talking with the graduate school I found out that I missed the deadline to apply to the Master of Arts program. However, there is a short form I filled out which allows me to take a class as a "non-degree" student. I'll officially apply to the Marriage and Family program at a later date.

I have the syllabus in my position :o)! I will be taking a Biblical Counseling Orientation from 5:30-10:00pm on the following dates: Jan. 19, 26; Feb. 9, 23; Mar. 9, 23; Apr. 13, 27.

Thanks for all your prayers!

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Grad School

This Saturday, December 16th I will take the next step in applying for graduate school.  The main aspect that I will work on is my autobiographical statement.

The main parts of this are:

    * Description of personal relationship with Jesus Christ
    * Developments in spiritual growth
    * Interaction with the College's Statement of Faith
    * Expression of long-range ministry goals, including the rationale for enrollment in graduate studies

Please pray for me as I seek our Savior in regards to this amazing opportunity.

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:o)

It is official, I'm now addicted to J.R.R. Tolkien. Thanks to Dr. E, Mrs. E, H, N, M, and A! I have been corrupted in the most positive way possible.

If you could do anything and you knew you couldn't fail...

A question that keeps coming up is the question of "if you knew you would be successful, what would you want to do." I debate with myself about this and one thing I would do is write that book. It's already started since I've been journaling so much. I wonder why haven't I started already (well, I have, but it's nothing really at this point). What's keeping me from doing more with it?

What else would I do? Grad school is one. Just today I thought about learning how to write a book. Not sure if graduate school is the place to do this, but it just came into my mind.

Cell phone decision

After much debate and thought I've decided to keep my cell phone. I went with a plan and company which will save me $15/month. The biggest perspective change was to use my cell phone as a tool and for ministry rather than just for pleasure. Technology isn't bad, just the abuse of it is. Now, I want to use this as a way to reach out and minister to those in need. Don't be surprised if you receive a seemly "random" call from me. I'll probably ask how I can pray for you and then pray before we get off the phone. I praise God for the burden He has placed on my heart to pray more fervently and to seek Him more diligently.

I've learned to now do ths with every aspect of my budget and I'm still learning and praising Him for what He's teaching me.

Early in the morning...

Jesus knew how to seek the Father and how to get away from all the distractions that come our way. I realized that in order for me to spend quality time with God in addition to working earlier (at 7:30am), I need to wake up earlier. I decided on Friday that I would get up at 5:30 am and even asked a friend to keep me accountable. Well, that didn't work out so well, but I decided to try again today, Saturday morning. Most people wouldn't even consider getting up at 5:30am for any reason, but I thought I'd give it a shot. The reason that I was able to do it I believe is twofold. One I had a friend keep me accountable and two I kept it in proper perspective. The purpose was to spend time with my Savior.

Also, I'm going to start working from 7am-9am as baker and then 9:30-5:30 in the snack shop. This way I'm not so rushed and I can enjoy my jobs more. This makes it even more important for me to wake up earlier.

Am I willing?

I've mentioned that I'm debating about whether or not to give up my cell phone at the end of this month.  The main reason to keep it would be so that I am available to the teens in my small group.

If I'm honest with myself, this is just an excuse that is covering up the fact that I want the convenience of having it.  I lived without it for many years.  I know It's helpful, but I certainly don't need it.

So Lord, I'm willing!

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What I want... when I want it...

I've discovered a way of thinking that has not only hurt me but those God has placed in my life. It is the thought that I can have what I want, when I want it, no matter what. This has gotten me into trouble financially. I have handled myself like a kid. I said, "I want it now even though I don't have the money."

It affects my relationship with God. I'm learning how to combat this way of thinking through meditating on Scripture and journaling. I'm able to see faulty thinking when I put it up against what God says in His Word.

Please pray with me and challenge me when you see me falling back into this way of thinking. Thanks!

Breakthrough!

Thanks for your prayers for the retreat.  My co-leader and I had a wonderful time developing closer friendships and trust with the guys of my small group.  We were challenged to find out where we are in our journey with Christ and to live our lives more fully for Him.  My guys were really open Saturday night and I'm extremely excited to see how God's going to use them to further His kingdom and His work.

One of the biggest things is that I want to live out what I'm preaching and teaching.  When I was in 9th grade (the age that my guys are), I went through the motions of the Christian faith.  However, through a similar retreat God captured my heart to help me start to make my faith my own.  I'm praying for wisdom on how to help my guys do that.

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Summit Lake

This weekend I am going on a retreat with my youth group at Summit Lake in Maryland. I'm excited to see how God's going to use this weekend for His glory.

3 Prayer requests

1. God would challenge the teens in my small group to more fully live for Christ through this weekend. Pray also that as leaders we would be an good example for what it means to live for Him.

2. Pray that my conversations to go deeper with the teens and other leaders.

3. That I would get up at 6am to spend time alone with God before the teens wake up. This will help me be more intune with what God would have me share with the teens.

Thanks for your prayers and I look forward to reporting about lives changed for Christ.

One question answered :o)!

Praise God! I met with my boss today and I'm going to work 10 hours of overtime a week. The cool part is that it will be as the baker and it is BEFORE my normal shift starts. In other words the only thing it will affect is the amount of sleep I get. However, I'll just need to be more disciplined to get to bed earlier. I'll be working 7:30-9:30 as baker. That takes care of the extra 400 dollars a month which will take the heat off some.

Thanks for your prayers!

More questions???!???

Lord God, where are You leading and directing me?

YOUTH MINISTRY

What is my role in youth ministry?

Why do I have a Bible degree?

What would a Master's degree help me accomplish other than enabling me to have another degree?

Am I going to be able to spend the next four years of my life with my current small group of teens?

COFFEEHOUSE/COFFEE

What is this passion for coffee all about?

Why did I get so much fulfillment from working at the Harbour?

MONEY

I want to sit down with someone else and really hammer out where I could save some more money and live on less.

Is my goal to be debt free by my 30th birthday realistic? or reasonable?

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Bye bye cell phone revisted

I've decided to get rid of my cell phone. So starting Dec 1st I can be reached on my land line phone. I know it's crazy, but it's what I need to do right now. :o)

Revisited... I posted this without thinking everything through. I'm going to make sure that this is wise and that it will actually save me money. If I had to make the decision right now, I'd cancel Verizon Nov 30th and try December without a cell phone. Then I'd re-evaluate it Jan 1st.

Passion

What are my latest thoughts?

1. God has placed a passion and love for youth ministry in my heart.

2.  God has made it clear that I need to hammer out my debt issue and take care of it.  First of all I need $1000.00 in the bank as an emergency fund and I'm no closer than I was 2 months ago.  This must change ASAP!

3.  I am passionate about coffee :o)

4.  I need $400/month extra to help me accomplish my financial goals

5.  Meeting with people to talk about this is important, but I need to do something about what I am learning.

6.  What price am I willing to pay to completely follow the Father's purposes for my life?

7.  How can I stand up for the "least of these"?

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Wow! Overflowing repost

I decided to repost this, but take off what I'm thinking careerwise for now.  This is from last weekend and the things God taught me.

Wow!  What a weekend.  I enjoy spending time with people.  However, this weekend I needed a break from the busyness of work to practice the discipline of solitude.  God blessed me with a "mini-vacation."  I found that God has blessed me so much today and this weekend that I wanted to share it with others.  I was overflowing and just had to share what God's been teaching me.

1.  Who I am becoming as a man of God is important and not my job title

2. God has clearly shown me that my ideas need to be measured against what God's Word says and then asking a few trusted advisors is extremely helpful.

3.  God has blessed me so much and therefore I want to be a blessing to others.  This can be as simple as a short note or a quick phone call.

4.  Even though life has not been easy for me by an stretch of the imagination, God has taught me more about Himself through these times than I ever would have otherwise.  In other words, if life had been easy I wouldn't have learn these crucial lessons.

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Ricketts Glen State Park

Saturday morning I woke up at 7am to go hiking with my dad at Ricketts Glen.  It was an encouraging and challenging time.  My dad enjoys hiking and I wanted to spend a significant portion of Saturday doing life together.  My favorite fall was Ganoga-Falls.  (Picture care of a Google
Search).

I can't think of a better way to spend my Saturday morning and afternoon.  I praise God for this time of encouragement.

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Not Yet...

I've been praying and thinking about Russia a lot in the past week. Through meeting with my missions pastor I've decided that this summer I should focus on paying off my debt. I'm still desiring to spend two weeks on a mission trip of some sort, but it seems wise to wait to spend an entire summer in Russia until my finances are in better order.

Another ?

How does spending my summer in Russia impact getting out of debt by September 2010?

In other words... is it wise to go to Russia and lose a summer where I could potentially make more money to get out of debt quicker?  How do these two things work together?

I'm asking God "Am I trying to make this Russia trip happen or is it You placing it in my heart?"  If it's me then I want to stay in the States serving Him here and wait for Russia.  I want it in His timing....

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Different Framework

Last time I worked 60 hours a week my life was a mess. All I did was work and I basically had no deep connection with either God or my friends. Now, I've realized that I need to work about 10-12 hours more each week (about 50 hours a week) This will either be accomplished at my current position or more likely a second job. I've realized that the relationships God has blessed me with has helped make me who I am today. I'm willing to give up most of my Saturdays (mostly afternoons anyway), but not at the expense of my close relationships. So my "whatever it takes to get out of debt" is limited by how it will impact my relationships. I wouldn't have it any other way.

The Little Things

I've been impressed about how the much I take little things for granted.  I burnt my right palm yesterday while cleaning the flat grill at work.  Now I have a huge blister on it and it makes work challenging.  I now realize all the things I can't do as well.  Please pray for no infection and that it will heal quickly.  It seems so simple.

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Mentor cont.

I've been praying about finding an older and wiser mentor since Sept 24th.  I wrote a letter tonight to my potential mentor and dropped it off at the post office.  Please pray for wisdom for this man and for me.  This is huge request and could have tremendous benefits for both of us.  Thanks for your prayers! :o)!

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Airplane and Helicopter ride

Wow!  This weekend was so relaxing and enjoyable.  Saturday I was able to get my laundry done, read some of As Iron Sharpens Iron by Howard Hendricks, listen to a few sermons and journal a lot.

To top my weekend off I was was able to ride in a missionary Airplane and Helicopter.  The best part was the Helicopter because I was able to sit in the front.  We were going 110 MPH and when you are flying it doesn't seem that fast.  It was amazing though to see exactly the kind of airplanes etc that they use to land in the jungle.  Needless to say, it was an exciting adventure! :o)!

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God's many blessings

God gave me an incredible opportunity tonight to share with my youth group about my parents divorce.  It was difficult to share since it is so fresh.  I pray that at least one person was impacted by the words that I said tonight.  My prayer is that God would use the pain in my life to further His kingdom.

In my life group I shared that I was angry with God and my parents.  Fortunately, I've worked through some of that and now I've forgiven God.  I've also managed to choose to forgive my parents for the hurt they've caused in my life.  (This has been a process for sure). The hardest part was forgiving my mom for leaving.  It is only by God's grace that I am where I am today and that I haven't completely freaked out, but that I'm closer to God through all these difficult times.

The biggest thing that helped me process everything has been journaling and getting my feelings down on paper (or in blog format).  I look forward to the day when I am able to put my thoughts and feelings down in a book format.

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Mentors

God has placed some incredible people in my life. Something that struck me through a conversation I had tonight was the need for someone older and wiser to mentor me. I have two people that immediately come to mind. I am going to pray for wisdom this week and then go ahead and ask one of them sometime during the first week in October. Please pray with me and ask me if I've done this.

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God will finish

Tonite I was feeling frustrated with myself that I'm not where I want to be in most areas of my life.  Through talking things through with a close friend I realized that a lot has happened durng the past few months and that I need to give myself a break.  I was reminded that God has started a great work in my life and He has promised to finish it (Philippians 1:6).  In other words, I'm in process and that things take time to heal.  An illustration of this is when someone breaks their arm it takes time for the break to heal.  In this case, it takes time for my heart to heal through everything.  Thanks again for your prayers!

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One verse

Lord, I commit over the next six months to memorize one verse per week.  I am doing this so I can know You and Your Word deeper.  May You be glorified.

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Memorizing Scripture

So why haven't I memorized Scipture very often?

1. It hasn't been a priority of mine

2. It's hard

Should I?  Absolutely!

Here's my paraphrase of an article that was sent to me by John Piper.  (Ok, now I'm obsesed with what John Piper says, but he's making me think in deeper ways... :o)!)

First of all memorizing Scripture helps me become more like Christ.  If I'm thinking about His Words and what He has to say I will know Christ more intimately (1 Samuel 3:21).  Second, I will be able to have victory over sin in my life.  Sin will no longer have the same appeal as before (Psalm 119:9, 11).  Third, more frequently Scripture will come to mind so we can encourage and counsel others (Proverbs 25:11).  Fourth, more opportunities will present themselves for me to share Christ's love and His Good News to people who don't know Christ (at least we'll be more likely to see those opportunities).  Fifith, through constantly thinking and mulling over His qualities we will have more opportunities to relate to Him more clearly.

Would you guys keep me accountable to start memorizing a Scritpure verse a week?  Thanks!

I'm goinig to use this website to start memorizing Scripture.

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Don't waste your...

I found an article by John Piper regarding his cancer.  For me my "cancer" is my brother's suicide, parents divorce and mom moving to North Carolina.  Check out Piper's article here.

Comments to follow...

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I'm emotionally tired and worn out

Wow... this has been quite an emotional few months for me.  I helped my mom move today.  She leaves early in the morning to move to North Carolina.  About a month and a half ago I talked with my mom about the possibility of her moving.  Obviously I didn't want that, but I let her know that if she needed to move I support her and that God has provided some amazing friends and that He will take care of my needs.  Well, now she's going to be in NC and I'll be 8 hours away from her.  If you think of it, I'd really appreciate your prayers for a quick adjustment for both of us.  We had an extremely good conversation tonight.

Father, use this time for Your glory and honor.  I trust You and You alone.

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Don't have much time?

If you have a few moments and are new to my blog read this post.  Thanks for your prayers... :o)!

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working out

One of my primary goals is to leave my house by 7:15am to work out in the gym at work.  I am happy to report that during the past three and a half weeks I haven't missed a single morning.  Praise God!

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Susquehannah Sunrise

Susquehannah Sunrise
Originally uploaded by rubberpaw.

Wow! Now, that's an amazing sunrise taken by my friend the rubberpaw. :o)

Debt free by my 30th birthday (September 1, 2010)

God has worked in my heart so much in the past month. I have been reading and listening to Dave Ramsey http://www.daveramsey.com/. He talks about having an emergency fund of $1000. I am determined that this will happen and I'm willing to do whatever it takes. Whether that means giving up lattes, cutting back on expenses, getting a second job, selling stuff I don't use, being willing to even sell my laptop. I'm willing to do whatever it takes. Yes, that's right, if He even wants me to give up the cell phone, I'll do that if it means I'll be getting out of debt quicker... My first goal is the $1,000.00 in the bank for the rainy day fund and then I'm going to go after my personal loan with an intensity that I've never had before. Once the personal loan is paid off I'll be able to put $260 toward the student loan and that will be done in less than half the time it would have taken normally.

So Nate, where's the money going to come from? First of all, I've determined that I must get a second job to take care of this debt issue and get the emergency fund taken care of quickly.

Am I ready? Well, I'm not going to be able to do it without God's help... Father, You and You alone will provide the strength I need to truly give everything to You. Through this process help me become the man of God You want me to be. Thank You for Your faithfulness...

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So Nate, where have you been?

I waited a whole week to post again... I did this for a few reasons.  One is that if you've recently found that I have a blog that you would be able to get caught up to date.  The second thing is that I've chosen a few times just not to blog even though I've accomplished those "three blogging requirements."  I'm trying to find out what it means to have my life in order and not to let any single aspect take over everything else.

Thanks for reading and I'm looking forward to allowing you to go through a journey with me.  God has taught me more than I even realize over the past few years.  I'd like to share some of it with you and allow each of you to get into my life.

If you are new to my blog please read two of my more personal postings

1. hardest-thing-in-my-life

2. My eyes

These will allow you to get into my life and to better understand what God has allowed in my life.

I praise God for His faithfulness and I'm only sharing these things so that God receives all the glory and honor that is due to His Name.

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Everything for the Lord

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward.  It is the Lord Christ you are serving" (Colossians 3:23-24).  These verses have been in the front of my mind lately.  IWhat does it mean for me to "work for the Lord" when I'm driving to work and I'm running late?  How about when I'm driving on 743 and I'm stuck behind someone driving 45 in a 55 MPH zone?  Am I driving keeping in mind that I'm doing it for the Lord?   How about interacting with friends? What about hitting that snooze button just one more time...? Exercise?  Can I do that "unto the Lord"  Just a few things I'm pondering...

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Fireflies

Yesterday I went for a walk with one of my best friends. We saw somefireflies so I thought I'd find a few pictures for all of you to enjoy.

Kusama-Fireflies-sm.jpg

MillenniumBridge/fireflies.gif

Three blogging requirements

As you can see I've been pretty obsessed with blogging in the past week or so.  I've realized that I need to balance this along with the other parts of my life.  Therefore, I've come up with three things that I must do before I can blog.

1.  Completely caught up with Bible reading (I'm reading the Bible in a year)

2.  Have I "blogged" with God today?  ie did I journal on paper yet?

3.  Have I exercised and generally taken care of my physical body yet today?

This should help me keep life more balanced.  Any suggestions or comments?

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Financial philosophy of debt

I've officially fallen off the deep end. About a month and a half ago or so I cut up my last credit card and closed my line of credit. I decided that I am sick of being a slave to this debt monster. I have a 109.73 payment for my student loans. This is what I call "legitimate" debt or something that is worthwhile.

I've now learned (sometimes the hard way), that I must delay gratification of always getting what I want, when I want it. Therefore, if I don't have the money, then I'm not going to buy it.

Tonight I had three options. First, I could have gone to see a movie in the theater and spent $7.50. Second, I could have gone to dinner and spent at least 7 bucks. My third option, which I took, was to go to The Harbour and get a bottomless cup of coffee for 2 bucks and support my local business.

Graduate School

I'm going to wait until the spring to start grad school.  This will help me to be able to focus on learning my new job first.

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My "Third" place

My home and work are the first two places where I spend my time. During the past two years The Harbour Coffee Shop has been my third place.

What is a third place?  This site should help http://user.gru.net/domz/third.htm

I think for me The Harbour has provided a hub for me to meet people whom I would not normally interact with on a regular basis.  It has also enabled me to get away from my work and home.

Where is your "third place"?

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Return to Russia long term?

I spent three months in Russia during the summer of 2003. I believe God has given me a passion to love and serve the Russian teens. I'm not sure if this is for long-term, but I know I MUST go back. How long and when this will happen I'm not sure. I don't think that I will spend the rest of my life in Russia, but I'd like to spend another summer there.

Here's one of my favorite pictures of this trip. This is a picture of my friend Vova. When I went to Russia I knew that I needed to only bring the things that I was willing to leave. One of the biggest things I brought was my camera. I felt compelled to give this camera to Vova because I knew he could use it so much more than me.

More thoughts about Russia to follow.... Have questions? Please ask. :o)!

Coffee freak?

I truly enjoy an amazing cup of coffee. For me, it's not just the great taste I have acquired, but the wonderful conversations that I've had over a good cup of coffee. For example, through working as a barista during the past year, I've had many meaningful conversations while carefully creating an amazing beverage. For me, it's not just a cup of coffee, but rather it's an experience. It gave me great pleasure to know what drink my customer wanted before they even ask for it. Believe it or not, I have put my heart into most of the drinks I made over the last three months. I will miss not making coffee... but I'll be back.. that's a promise. Whether it's working for an independent shop, starting up my own shop, I know I'll be making incredible espresso again someday soon.... :o)!

Blog time with God

I've realized that it is crucial to have my time alone with God in order to truly become the man God wants me to be. Balancing my social, spiritual, mental, emotional and intellectual time is so important. These are so interconnected. I'm not sure which impacts the others the most, but it seems like when my connection with God is weak then my relationship with everyone else is impacted as well.

One of my goals is that before I start posting on this blog, I'm going to "blog with God" first.

The hardest thing in my life...

The hardest thing in my life happened in July 2002 when my brother committed suicide... Wow... That's one thing that God has used more than anything else in my entire life.

So what have I learned from this?

1. God allows things like this in our lives to cause us to be more conformed into His image.
2. This helps me to understand more about the pain that people have in their lives.
3. God has allowed this to happen so I can help others through difficult things.
4. Lord willing I will write a book someday

Please feel free to write or comment about this. If you've been impacted by this PLEASE email me. I'd be so happy to help!

Learning disability

In school it always took me longer to do things than the other kids in my class. I was in learning support throughout my schooling until I graduated from high school. The amazing thing is that in college it didn't even matter that I had this "disability" because God has enabled me to overcome it. Basically, the way I did this was to spend the time that it took to learn the information. Even though this was challenging, I know that God used it for His glory and I'm proud that He enabled me to get through college without even mentioning this problem to my professors. The only exception to this was the second semester I had biblical Greek. That was a tough thing for me and I just barely made it through. However, this was the only time in my whole undergraduate career that I even mentioned this.

For me, I think the thing that made a tremendous difference was that I did not use this weakness as an excuse for not being able to do something. I used it as a way to overcome a huge challenge not for my glory, but for God's.

Something most people don't know...

I only look out of one eye at a time. This is something that I've just lived with so I don't even know the difference. When I was a child I had three surgeries to try to fix the problem. Physically it's been fixed, but my brain didn't make the change. I don't have any depth perception, but again I've learned to live with it and I don't know the difference. I don't often talk about this, but this a way for each of you to find out more about me in a non threatening way. Feel free to ask any question that you have for me about this. I'm open to talk about it. You can either post a comment or ask me in person. Either way works for me.

Highlight of my week

My passion during the past three months has been coffee. I have tried to learn as much as I could about being the best barista I could be. Therefore, when I have an opportunity to drive out of my way to get that "amazing latte" I'm willing to do it. I knew that even though it might take me an extra hour or two that it would be worth it. It was!

I had heard so much about Murky Coffee that I knew I just had to go there. I felt like such a dork though because after I ordered my medium latte to stay I took a picture of the art that the barista drew on my latte. Let's just say it tasted amazing. It was so nice to truly be able to enjoy the latte since I'm a professed "coffee snob."

To blog or not to blog

To blog or not to blog that is the question...
The question I must ask myself is "Why am I blogging in the first place?" What is my purpose? If I'm honest I really don't know the answer to that. For now, this site will probably just be "Nate's random thought's." I think the conclusion I came up with tonight is that a blog should serve the blogger and hopefully some people would be able to enjoy the contents. Am I blogging for blogging sake? More random thoughts to follow...

beach

Well, I decided to leave all my technology behind for the last part of my vacation. I'm just bringing my Bible, journal and The Screwtape letters. By the time I'm back I'll be all caught up in my Bible reading. Thanks for all your prayers!

Refreshing vacation

God has been so good to me during this vacation. I've been able to read and spend a TON of time in the Word. I've been reading Screwtape Letters by my favorite author ever. What more could a man want? Haha!

I praise God for His faithfulness!

Catching up on my Bible reading

Well, I'm trying to read through the Bible this year. I've managed to get WAY behind, but this vacation has helped me catch up a little bit at least. I only have part of 1 Kings and all of 2nd Kings to read.