[SCCdcTFreak]

*ffooofffffffff!!!!!*

Just blowin' the dust off the cover of this thing -- it hasn't been touched in fore . . . forev . . . eh . . . eh . . . ACHOO!!!!

Phew!!!

Anywho . . .

Yeah, it's been VERY long time since any of y'all have heard from me. Well, I'm back and I'm BAD -- okay, I'm just back, really.

Since our last episode . . .

I got the wonderful priviledge of leading music for a revival in Fort Worth last week for this really small church that was just FULL of love and appreciation, and truly loved and worshipped God with all their hearts. God really moved during those four days and taught even me through it a little more about worship.

The biggest news is that I have been called to be the new Youth Minister at my home church here in Euless. That just happened about a week and a half ago. My first official Sunday is actually coming up this Sunday -- the day before my birthday, go figure!! I taught my first Wednesday night lesson this past week , and I cannot believe how easy and how awesome it was for me. It actually seemed to come really naturally to me. Now keep in mind this was definitely not my first time to teach on a Wednesday night. I have preached a few times on Sunday night and have taught many-a-lesson on Wednesday nights. It had been good before, but this past time, it just seemed easy and natural, and I seriously didn't do anything different than I had before.

I think maybe for one thing, I just felt a lot more comfortable this last time, and I had kinda had a little bit of a talk with the kids about authority before the service. Don't worry, it was not like this big "I'm gonna lay the smack of God down on you" kind of thing. I was just letting them know that if they have any problems with me or my helpers or anyone they could come to me and talk about it and we'd discuss it. Also, if they had a problem with me or any of my rules or guidelines, they could go above my head if they want to the Pastor, but (as he told me) he's gonna back me up 99.9% of the time, because this is all stuff I've already discussed with him. However, if there does seem to be a problem, they can still come to us and let us know about it, and we can talk with them about it.

The lesson was about love, and I felt me preaching to myself as well. To sum it up, we talked about Matthew 22 where the Sadducees and the Pharisees went to Jesus and tried to "stump" Him, specifically the question the pharisees asked him about which was the greatest of the ten commandments. I kinda learned through my own teaching that I'm just as guilty about the whole "Love your neighbor as yourself" thing.

That's kind of a tough thing for us a lot. Our natural tendency is to look out for "Old Number One" and think of ourselves before everyone else. I think about the times that someone frustrates me or maybe does something that I don't agree with, and my first instinct always seems to consist of either just getting mad and avoiding them, thinking about smacking them up-side the head, or plain just good old knocking the snot out of something like a wall or a pillow or something.

I'm kind of reminded of the song "We all wanna be loved" by dc Talk. That song runs through my head pretty much any time that I say or even think something mean or cold to someone. And of course, the big softie in me thinks "MAN, that dude just wants some LOVIN' -- THATS ALL!!!!!" and in my imagination, I just start crying. Not in front of everyone else of course, 'cuz a guy in behind the wheel of a car goin' 70 down the interstate bawlin' his eyes out at 8:30 in the morning looks a little funny.

So, remember the next time that someone maybe does a little something to frustrate you, or does the 'ole NBA-style post-up move on you when they're trying to merge into your lane in traffic, or maybe your roommate makes a mess in your room and expects you to clean it up. Remember that the greatest commandment is to Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength. And then when you're done doing that, love your neighbor as much as yourself.

I love you guys, and I miss talkin' to all of you.

Mood: Excited

Song: "We All Wanna Be Loved" by dc Talk

In Him,
† <>< Stephen

[GMartin2R]

hey stephen, just sayin hi... welcome back...

that's cool to hear about you being a youth minister. wish you all the best in that.

[SCCdcTFreak]

Originally posted by GMartin2R
hey stephen, just sayin hi... welcome back...

that's cool to hear about you being a youth minister. wish you all the best in that.

Thanks, bro! I really appreciate the encouragement.

Well,

Today has been a pretty good day. My friend Blake, who I'll be moving in with in about a month or so along with my friend Casey, was looking around for houses and found today what may be a really good deal. It's gonna take some fixin' up, but the price is still unbeatable. He was telling me about it, and I'm really excited to see what happens with it. Y'all be praying about that, though that if it's the opportunity God wants for us that it would be made clear to us.

My grandmother dropped by my house yesterday which was awesome, but then it was sad, too because I was not there to see her. I was stuck here at work. She used to live only about 25 miles away, but now she's a whole 3 hours away because they moved to East Texas. What's worse is that she came by to drop off my birthday gift, which I wanted to be there when she gave to me, but they could only stay for a little bit and it was yesterday afternoon and I'd be working all the way 'til 11 PM. I really love my grandmother and miss just being a short drive away from her. I think I need to get myself some time off work next month and just take a trip over there to see her and my grandfather on like a Monday and see them.

My grandmother and I are really close because 1) I was her first grandson ever, and 2) my mom and I lived with them for a little while while I was a toddler up until I was 4. I have a lot of fond memories of growing up with my grandmother that make her even more special to me. She's also been a very strong spiritual influence in my life and has been one of my biggest fans in the world. I would almost say that I love my grandmother more than my mom. But, my mom is also very special to me, so therefore I guess it's a tie.

Well, it's about time for me to go, so I'll see all y'all later and I'll be back again to write some more.

In Him,
† <>< Stephen

[GRibbit]

Happy B-day Stephen!

Hope your day is wonderful!!!

[SoccerAaron]

Happy Birthday!

[GMartin2R]

Originally posted by GRibbit
Happy B-day Stephen!

Hope your day is wonderful!!!

yeah ditto that... i got here a bit late but oh well. better late than never...:kgrin:

[SCCdcTFreak]

Thank you guys, and Heather (the girl). I love you guys, and just little things like telling me "Happy Birthday" really mean a lot to me. I appreciate the love and support that you guys have shown me and I want y'all to know that y'all mean a lot to me and I'm always here if y'all just wanna chat, need a prayer person, need some advice, or just wanna talk sports with. May God use people in your lives the way He has used you in mine.

In His Love,
† <>< Stephen

[GRibbit]

LOL Stephen I just read your sig. That part of the movie was HILARIOUS!

[SCCdcTFreak]

Phew,

I know it's been a while again since I've been in here, but it's been a week of tons 'o stuff to do. First, jumping right in to a Youth Ministry position in late spring means jumping right in where someone else has left off with Youth Camp plans. Man, I knew it required a lot of work, but WOW.

Thursday was prolly my busiest day because I had to work at the Station from 9am-12pm. I had also (through a scheduling mix-up) been scheduled to work a taping we had from 2pm-5pm. However, I had to go to Oklahoma that afternoon for a camp prep meeting for Falls Creek, so I was not going to be able to work the shift. (Not to mention I had to run to Dallas from Fort Worth to make a credit union deposit -- which involved going on 635 both ways and getting down and back in 45 minutes -- DIFFICULT) I have to give mad props to our director Dave, he is a great guy to work with and told me it was no problem to find someone to fill in for me. So, we went to Oklahoma and attended the meeting, got many questions about camp answered and I'm now feeling a lot more prepared for it than I did. It was a great trip going with two of my sponsors and we got a lot accomplished, but DANG was I wiped out when we got back home.

Friday was just as busy, although with much less traveling. I had to work from 9am 'til 12pm, go home rest a minute, got a new cell phone activated and then be back into work from 3pm 'til 11pm. Work was a little stressful, although I managed and everything went okay.

Today has been peaceful. Played some basketball in the backyard with my cousin, who I hadn't hung out with in about a year, and now I'm back at work.

Now, through all that "busy-ness" and errand running, I've learned a few lessons about Minsistry this week. I've been reading "Purpose Driven Youth Ministry" by Doug FIelds, and some of the stuff I just read last week is already coming into play now. One thing is that you NEVER want to get so caught up in all the business and doing things involved with minsitry that you leave out "people-time" and time to just spend talking and getting to know the people you're ministering to. Don't leave them out -- especially Youth. They need to know that I love them with the love of Christ (which as a human, I may never be capable of that, but I must strive for it) and let them know that they can ALWAYS come to me with ANYTHING.

We've got one youth in our group that has pretty much seen me grow up in this church, which means it's a little tougher for me to be her Youth Minister. In talking with her mom, it's just as tough a transition for her as it is for me. She just needs some prayer. She just has a very independent personality and as far as authority figures go, I've always been kind of a "big brother" to her and now I've been given some authority. So, she's not going to be able to get away with a lot of the stuff she got away with before, and I think really that it's tougher for her than it is for me, because I've always been slightly authoritive, but she's just learning now that it's a little more serious. However, most of the other girls in the youth group are pretty new and so they are still getting to know me anyway and have had no problems.

I guess just pray for her and the transition that is taking place as far as my relationship with her. It's not really going to change TOO much other than the fact that I'm not always going to be able to be that "best friend" to her that I was before, and I'm going to hold her more accountable to her actions and expect her to take up some of the leadership roles that she's capable of. She's going to be a Senior next year.

Well, now that I've verbally vomited all over everyone, I believe I'm gonna go now. I'll be back again to post some more and to give y'all updates.

In Him,
† <>< Stephen

[GMartin2R]

wow you've been busy lately...

so aside from the one girl the transition to you taking over is going pretty smoothly overall?

[SCCdcTFreak]

Well, a lot of people would probably say that this was a move made MUCH later in life than an "average" person would make it, but it has worked out great, and after two days, I know that it's going to work.

You see, I had kinda grown comfortable where I was, but at the same time, things were getting stale. What am I talking about you may ask? Well, this bright, young wild-haired 24 year-old boy has finally left the 'ole roost of the parents. A good friend of mine and I now live in an apartment that is about 2 miles away from our respective parents' houses, and I've got to say that after only two nights, well, I really can't give too much of an opinion other than "yeah, it's nice."

It's kinda funny, though -- that first night -- knowing I was at "home" but at the same time feeling like I was sleeping in a hotel room. A very nice and very clean and almost un-used feeling hotel room. It could be that I was only about half un-packed that night, so maybe now that I've got the closet full of my "stuff" it may change.

I still get that weird feeling though when we've got friends over at about 11pm that I need to get home soon. Then the left side of my brain says (that is the intellectual side, right -- not the artsy side? -- anywho -- my brain says) Hey Moron -- you ARE home, and I'm all "oh yeah."

But anyway, I've now been on my own for officially about 3 days, and it's been nice, but very busy too. The moving process is officially finished now, so all the heavy lifting of stuff up to the third floor is out of the way. The guys come to install DirectTV on Thursday, which means I'll have to swing by the parents' place to catch "SportCenter" whenever I get a hankerin' for the next 5 days.

I now have somewhere to think that's quiet, I have my own bathroom -- always a plus, and I don't have to clean up after my brothers, which is probably the biggest plus.

Well, I think I'm gonna go now, but I just needed somewhere to rant about moving, and I haven't been here in forever, and I'm gonna TRY to visit a little more often, but computer time is not always a frequent thing for me. We'll see though after the dudes come in and install my internet next Thursday, or was it the 9th? I dunno -- but anywho -- everyone have a wonderful week.

In Him,
† <>< Stephen

[GMartin2R]

so moving out is an interesting experience huh? can't say i've been there myself but i can imagine its different having to retrain your mind as to what home is... well guess i'll cross that bridge when i come to it... hope to see you round more time permitting...

later...

[Singin4Him82]

Hey Stephen! I'm so excited you finally made the move! Better late than never, right? So other than that how are things? Made a decision on the girl situation yet? Has God shed any light on the situation? I still think little miss Oklahoma is the girl but I'm not God so I guess you should probably let him decide *hehe* . Keep posting, we'd love to have you back!

[SCCdcTFreak]

Yeah, I've come to realize that Jill, who lives out here, is a fun person to hang out with and have a good time with, but Trinity is the girl I want to be with, and we've both been e-mailing each other back and forth for the past couple of weeks now. She thinks she's probably going to have to move down here soon, so I definitely have no problems with that, of course, because she wants to be a Kindergarten teacher, and there are just not a whole lot of job openings up there in Oklahoma, so she wants to move down here to look for them easier, because the D/FW area is booming as far as needing teachers.

As far as feeling at home, it's a lot easier now. I'm officially "moved in" and have been for about two weeks now, so all my stuff is in place and we have the washer and dryer so I can do my own clothes at my own place. It's really nice, and also the people that live around us are cool. I am also kind of a daddy now (no, not like that), because my room mate and I got a puppy last week. I'll share more about that later, though in my next journal entry (you know when i sound all smart and deep and theological and stuff??), which is coming up here in maybe ten minutes or so. But yeah, things are definitely going well. I still go by and see the family at my old home and get me a free meal or two, or seven , but it's funny 'cuz I have like two homes now. I like it. Well, that's all for now -- next journal entry here in a little bit.

In Him,
† <>< Stephen

[SCCdcTFreak]

Well, as I said above, things could not be too much better right now. I'm now the partial owner and secondary care-taker of a beautiful little 8 week-old female golden retriever by the name of Baylee. She's adorable, but my goodness, is she ever a mess?! She's really my roommate's dog, because he paid for her and is buying all her stuff, but I get to do a lot of the taking care of her during the day because I'm usually off by noon or so. So, that gives me official part ownership.

As I was playing with Baylee the other day, though, God kind of spoke to me. I had taken her out to uh, "do her business" and then just to kind of go for a walk with her and let her get some excercise. And as Baylee was trying to lead me around while I held the leash, and had a mighty 180 pound advantage over her, I thought about how God probably feels sometimes. As she was stopping to eat some grass, sniff the trees and bushes, try to pull leaves off the bushes and sniffing cigarette butts, attempting to growl down a two-year-old and three times her size golden retriever and dart out in front of cars that she thought looked cool, I couldn't help but get amused at how tough we think we are and how much we think we're in control of everything.

God's got this imaginary leash that he has on us, not to control us, but to keep us out of the harm that we may not even notice. As we go through life, I think God is not trying to make it all about having power and dominion over us, but just the fact that He knows what is in our best interest and He's just trying to keep us from getting into more than we can handle. It's when we start heading into danger and meddling with his plans that we feel the pain in our lives as God kinda jerks the leash back on us and says "NO" to us.

I myself was in a little bit of a tough spot this past week financially where things were tight and I had to realize that I need to cut back on some of my spending now that I'm on my own. I felt God letting me get into a little bit of a mess on my own, which hurt, and then God pulling the leash back and saying "No" to me.

It's then that He calls us back to go His way. Then, as we follow Him back the way He's going, He rewards us and takes us up in His arms and loves on us and lets us know what a good job we're doing.

I don't know a whole lot about training dogs and being a dog owner because I only had a dog for about six weeks of my life, but I'm learning, and it can be extreme joy and extreme frustration all within a five minute period. But I love it and I know now at least a little fraction of the joy that God feels when we come to Him in obedience and allow Him to take us into His loving arms.

Isn't it awesome what God can teach you through some of the littlest things?

In Him,
† <>< Stephen