Struggles

                      Life is unfortunately full of struggles. We all go through seasons of life that just stink. And when you are going through a struggle it is really easy to get depressed and want to give up. Trust me, I know. Lately I've had a really long and hard struggle with my job. Everyday it seems to get worse and worse. When I come home I just feel lousy. But I've come to realize something. Yes, life is full of struggles. But it is also filled with blessings intertwined in the struggles. While I never want to go to work and have bad things happen,  I also want to go to college. This job is helping pay for my dreams. God is always on your side. Yesterday I worked a 8 and a half hour shift and afterwards I went to the campground where some of my relatives were camping. I felt really tired and down. But as we were sitting around the campfire, people just started singing worship songs. The next thing I know almost everyone in our group was just in a time of worship. It was incredible. And then my grandma said something to me that really spoke to me to. She said that when she got her first job her Pastor told her that anyone can give up when it gets hard, but it takes someone special to fight through the hard times. Right now, I am going through a hard time. But it is not permanent. I still have a ton of reasons to be happy. Whenever you are having a struggle, don't focus on that. Focus on the good things on your life. Pray, because nobody knows what you are going through like God does. He is on your side whether you think so or not. Hang in there. Don't give up.

God Bless,

David

 

Noises

             In life we have so many influences that compete for our attention. Our friends, the music we listen to, the things we read, all help dictate what we think about. And what we think about will eventually become our actions. I recently got a job, and I am one of the only ones who does not swear all the time. Being around that kind of environment is definitely not that fun. For 8 hours I have all that junk going into my head. Maybe you are in a similar situation. Here’s how I counter-react that. As I drive to and from work I listen to positive, Christian music. And I do not just do that because I am a “church-boy.” I do it because the music that we listen to directly effects our thoughts. I get those songs stuck in my head and listen to them in my head when everyone is cussing and stuff at work. I also think about why I got a job in the first place. I’m saving up for college and saving money for Speed the Light, which gives money to missionaries to help them with their jobs. So I really do not know what you are going through today. But if you find yourself getting trapped in all this negative muck, make sure that you find something positive to help you. Whether its good music, or talking to a friend, find a way to focus your mind on positive things. I’m praying for you. Don’t give up. God is going to use you for something great. Stay strong.
God Bless,
David 

Spencer Lake Camp 2013

                           


                                                                                   

                                This past week I had the privilege  again to go to Spencer Lake Youth Camp. I love going there, and not just because I get to have fun. I love going there because the services that take place at night are literally life changing. On Thursday night's service I got this revelation or something though. This has happened to me as I'm sure it has happened to others. At camp we go expecting to hear from God. We dive into worship there and hold nothing back. We touch God, but then Friday afternoon comes and we are back home. No worship team. No speaker. Just you. Unfortunately, once we get back home we slowly get off of our "Jesus high" and then go back to how we used to be. This year though, I am determined to make sure that does not happen this year to me. I pray it will not happen to anyone else who went to camp either. The majority of people at camp go to church. But if you went to camp and are not plugged into a Godly church, you are going to have to get plugged in one. It is so vital that you surround yourself with people who are also pursuing God with everything they got. The next thing is to make sure that when you go to youth group or church, that you are expecting and wanting God to speak to you. At camp we expect it, but I have found that sometimes going to church we kind just get in a routine of it, and just think nothing of it. You see at camp God gave us a seed. Now if we continue to water and take care of that seed, it will grow into something beautiful. But if we come home and just let the seed sit there, it will never come to fruit. We take care of that seed by praying and reading our Bibles. We take care of it by helping and praying for others. It will grow when we continue to give back to God, through worship and tithing. Lets serve our youth groups and church's with a servants heart. I firmly believe that God is going to do something big in our lives this coming school year. We just cant only expect God to show up at camp. God is not confined to the worship center at camp. I have personally seen God move in Faith Bible Alliance Church in Neosho, Christian Life Fellowship in Mayville, the Pentecostal House of Prayer in Horicon, Faith Community Church in Janesville and the list goes on and on. Our God is not confined to any one place. He is everywhere, wanting to be with you. This year guys, lets chase after him. I'm praying for all of us. Lets go make something happen.
God Bless,
David 

Sports

                              Now, for those of you who are not interested in playing or watching sports, I apologize if this post does not relate to you. But I have noticed something that I believe can be applied in some form or another, to people who watch or play sports. In America today a boatload of emphasis is placed on sports. This can be either in sports we watch or in sports that we play. For example, I am from Wisconsin so the Packers are a pretty big deal around here. If people can not go to the game, they plan a party or set aside 3 to 4 hours or so just to watch it. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying this is bad or anything, as I do this to. It is wrong however, when we care more about how the Packers or our favorite sport team performs, then we care about our relationship with God. It's easy to have your mood effected just by if your favorite team wins or loses. In the long-term, does it really matter who wins the Super-Bowl this year? No. But there are 16 NFL regular season games. Lets just estimate and say that each game will last around 3 hours give or take. That means you could spend up to 48 hours just watching the Packers! That's 2 whole days gone. That doesn't even include play-offs!
                            A ton of people (myself included) play sports to. Again I'm not saying any of this is bad. But as I have been around sports the majority of my life, and I have seen far to many people place way to much emphasis on sports. Whether it's parents or players. Think about it this way. As player, or at least the dedicated ones, we spend hours preparing for the sport that we play. We spend time working out so that come game time, we can demolish our opponent. Imagine if as players, we would spend just as much effort making sure that our relationship with God is where it needs to be.
                           We have to be prepared for the game of life. We have to work out our spiritual lives, we can do this by reading the Bible, praying etc. We can not just practice all the time though. After all, in a sporting event who really just wants to sit on the sidelines? No one. We should want to get out into the world and tell people about Jesus. My Bible teacher this past school year did an excellent job of really showing how as Christians, we are all called to witness to people. So as far as sports go, use the sport you play as a tool. A tool to show how God is first in your life. Make sure that you have your priorities in check when it come to watching sports. Shine for Jesus. Then work out your spiritual self, and then go out and use it.
God Bless,
David

This Close

          

           If you live in the Dodge County area I'm sure you heard of the horrific traffic accident that took place yesterday on Highway 33. So far two people have died. All this devastation took place just because somebody was trying to pass another car. Here is what scared me. The crash happened around 3:54 P.M. and the place of the accident is right where I go past on my drive to and from school everyday. There have been days where I have passed that spot at the same time the crash happened. If school would not of ended last week, that crash could of had me and my brothers in it! You see, we never really know how close we are to death. I may be 60 years from death, or I could be 60 seconds. Its the same way for all of us. When tragedies like this happen it is easy to think of stuff like that. But we need to live every day like there is no tomorrow. And I am not speaking of reckless living. I am talking about the type of living where you do not have any regrets. Do not save anything for tomorrow. If you feel like God is telling you to do something today, go out and do it! You never know what may happen.  

Driving Lessons

                  A year ago today I got my drivers license. To get up to that point I put in a lot of practice behind the wheel so that way I could pass the first time with flying colors. One of the main things that my instructor drilled into me was the fact that you always had to glance at your mirrors every 5 seconds or so. As I've been thinking about this lately, I've found that this also applies to life and not just driving. In life you can not just keep going forward without remembering your mistakes, because otherwise you will just keep  on making them over and over again. But when you are driving you can not just stare at the mirrors the whole time! I'm pretty sure if you did that, your car would not be in one piece for very long! So you can not only focus on your mistakes either. You have to put your life in drive and keep moving forward. Just make sure you check back every once in awhile so you can learn from what you did. In literature class I just got done reading about Benjamin Franklin. Benjamin strove for moral perfection. He wanted to be perfect. Now obviously not one of us is going to achieve that goal, and Benjamin knew that. But he said that we also have to strive for perfection. And when you find yourself shooting for that goal, that is when you will really see your life taking shape. And do not forget who ultimately holds the steering wheel. We are not in control! And it is best not to fight for the wheel, as that may lead to a crash. God knows what He is doing and has a plan better for you than you could ever dream up by yourself.
God Bless,
David

Discontent

         

 At first, the thought of being discontent may sound like a scary thing. That would be a good first assumption.  But through some things that I have experienced, I have come to realize that sometimes we need to be discontent. Think about it. If you were always content and everything always went right for you, would you want to change anything? Chances are that you would not want to. And sometimes, God may want us to change in an area, but if we are to content we may not want to listen. Here is an example from my own life. Since I go to a smaller school, I get to play basketball for the school team. I have only played basketball for 2 years so I am not that good at all, I'll be the first one to admit that! Since I am more of a smaller/scrawny type of person, I got pushed around a lot. By the end of the year I came to the conclusion that I am sick and tired of getting pushed around! I became discontent with my current state. So I decided that I had to change something. So lately I have started working out and lifting weights, so that way come next basketball season, I will not get pushed around so easily! And this does not just apply to sports. Sometimes in our spiritual walk we can become lukewarm as I have talked about in different posts. But if you find yourself discontent today, maybe you need to change something. Change is not always bad, in fact sometimes it is needed. So if you feel God leading you in a certain direction today, do not be afraid to move!
God Bless,
David

Mistakes

Chances are is that if you are a human being then you have made a mistake or two( or a million if your me ) in your life. We make mistakes every day. Some mistakes are small such as sleeping in to late. Other mistakes are not so small, for example, you do not want to make a mistake when deciding whether you are going to marry someone or not! Sometimes the mistakes we will make will not end up having very harsh consequences. However some mistakes will have you feeling the consequences for a very long time(unfortunately i have made a few of those) but you see in life we can not just go back and white out the things we did bad. i cant take back things ive said or reverse bad choices i have made. The crucial point becomes what you do moving on from your bad choice(s). I believe that God brings us thru our mistakes and teaches us a very valuable lesson along the way. Hopefully we never forget our mistakes, so that way we will not repeat them. Thank goodness our God is a forgiving God! We have to continually be asking God for wisdom, so that way hopefully we wont make as many mistakes. I apologize if this post didnt make much sense, as i am just typing what my heart feels like, but i hope you can grasp the main concept. This is what it is in a nutshell: you are going to make mistakes! But it is how you react and respond to your mistakes that makes the world of difference. we have to clean up our mess and keep moving forward. the number one thing that Satan would want to have happen is for us to make one mistake and then get totally sidetracked. Stay on the path! Stay strong! Dont give up! Yes i know how depressing making mistakes can be. But thru God i have found peace. If you feel burdened in any way because of a mistake you have made, talk to God about it! He loves it when you pray to Him and you'd be surprised how much just pouring out your heart to God does help! I am sorry again if this was hard to read, but i hope that you got something out of it.
Until next time,
David

Wisdom/Proverbs 2

                         For the month of January my church is doing this Wisdom challenge thing which is not as intimidating as it sounds. Basically what it is is that everyday in January, you read the chapter in Proverbs that has the same number. So for example since today is the 2nd of January I read the 2nd chapter in Proverbs. I highly recommend that you do that. I just read the 2nd chapter and i wanted to share something about it. 

Proverbs 2:6 says, For the Lord gives wisdom and from His mouth come knowledge and understanding. Life is a lot about choices. Theres little ones like deciding what kind of cereal you will have for breakfast, and there is big ones, like deciding who you will marry or where you will go to college. And it is hard to make good decisions with those choices if you do not have wisdom. Lucky for you and me, God gives out wisdom freely to those who ask for it. We do not have to face difficult choices alone. God wants to give us wisdom, we just have to ask for it. Isnt God awesome??? I think he is really amazing. So i hope that you will start the Wisdom Challenge today by reading Proverbs 2. God will rock your socks off!!!

God Bless,

David