Summer Start - First Blog

What it is:

I decided that I would start a blog this summer and update it as often as possible (shooting for every day) to let our church family and others in on all that is going in Amber's and my life, and the lives of our students.  My hope is that this blog would be informational, spiritually focused, and give an honest look into the life of a student minister.  I pray that God would bring good things out of this that would bless the lives of those who read.

What it isn't:

In this blog I will not negatively discuss "the church" nor will I gripe about what is or isn't happening in my ministry.  I will not point out students' or adults' names when prayers are needed if it would paint them in a negative light but will at times share the names of students or adults when I feel it is appropriate to do so (praise report, prayer request, life change, etc.).  I will not preach or get on a soap box about issues.  I will not "pat myself on the back" nor try to put the spotlight on me in any way. (If there is anything that could be pointed towards me please know that my desire is to pass all glory or praise on to God who is the only one deserving of it.)

First entry:

I don't know how to feel about today just yet.  Amber and I are entering into new territory as ministry leaders.  Today we sent off 7 students who have graduated from our ministry to go serve at East Texas Baptist Encampment in Newton, Texas for the entire summer.  They will be serving for 10 weeks by cooking, cleaning, lifeguarding, repairing, and maintaining the entire camp.  They will end their summer serving by going on a mission trip to Ghana which is located in Western Africa for ten days to build playgrounds, share the gospel, and simply love people in Jesus' name.  On one hand I am incredibly excited about this!  They are living our ministry motto, "Love God and Love People".  They are proof that the message we have been teaching has been effective.  On the other hand I am having to say good-bye to some of the greatest teenagers I have ever known.  Simply put (selfishly put) I am going to miss them!  I would much rather have them leaving on Thursday with us to attend youth camp and then attend our leadership mission trip to Tennessee at the end of the summer.  That way Amber and I can have more time with them; time to teach them, encourage them, share with them, and love on them.  But I know that I have to let them go.  They are not mine.  I have seen Jesus in each of them and God has used them to touch my life for the past two years.  Now its time for them to move on.  Its time for them to be that same blessing to other people along the path that God has set out for them.  God DOES have a plan for them.  I was a small part of it and I am ok with that.  Now my roll changes from teacher to prayer warrior and encourager.  I will accept that role.  I just hope God allows us to continue to be a part of each of their lives.  Amber and I met with them today. Here are their names and some things that they asked us to pray for this summer:

Caleb Hardy - To love the unloveable, to learn how to teach others, to be fair and not pick favorites
Kayla Burns - To have a positive (Christ-like) attitude consistently, that selflessness would become second nature to her
Brettnay Bouse - The group would be open to the Holy Spirit's lead and they would be closer to the person God wants them to be at summer's end, and personally for a consistent prayer life
Nick Goeddertz - patience and for the group to be unified in spirit and purpose
Brandon Gilbert - to be more open with his faith
Brian Askew - not present at time of prayer but will be serving this summer
Dustin Smith - not present at time of prayer but will be serving this summer

We encouraged them to do three things: 1. To memorize scripture. 2. To say yes to new opportunities. 3. Set the bar high for others to follow (be a thermostat instead of a thermometer)

Thanks for reading this first blog entry.  This one was long but others may be shorter.  This journey has began for these students today and has began for Amber and I also as we embark this summer to Love God and Love People more and more.